After The Bombs
by partypantscuddy
Summary: "Sometimes two people have to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together." M rating starts at chapter 16, please read and review!
1. Sleeping with a Broken Heart

_My excuse is I got bored and didn't feel like writing anything for "Life Unexpected". So there's this. Anyway, this one is going to be a little different, because I'll be writing it as the season goes along after the episode that must not be named. Leave a review!_

* * *

Lisa Cuddy lay in bed, her eyes burning as she cried to herself , hours after having ended it. She thought she could have handled being with House. She had really thought that things were going to work. They had worked. They had worked out perfectly fine until they were faced with a worrisome situation. Any normal couple would have been have dealt with the situation and would have been fine afterwards, but the truth of the matter was that she and House were never a _normal _couple. There had never been anything normal about them. She was a flawed middle aged woman who had fallen in love with an emotionally stunted, self centered, middle aged drug addict.

She looked at the clock that lay on her night stand. Three fifty-six am. There was a pang in her chest as she looked at the empty space beside her and realized that it would most likely never be filled by the right person again. She wanted him to be there with her. She needed him with her, but she knew he wouldn't come. When she had left him, she had hoped that he would come for her. He hadn't. She wanted nothing more than for him to be the one coming to her. She had wanted him to stop her from leaving his apartment. To stop her from walking out on him in _their_ time of need. It was not _her _time of need anymore. It was _their _time of need. That was all she had wanted.

She never got what she wanted. Taking one of the sleeping pills she had been prescribed, she thanked god she was on medical leave for the next week.

* * *

He had expected her to be there when he looked up from the floor of his bathroom. He had expected her to save him again. _Again. _She had always saved him. She had always been there when he needed her most, and he couldn't even muster the courage to be with her in her one time of need. He had wanted to be there for her, but it was well known that he was not the supportive type of person. He couldn't deal well with emotional situations. He just couldn't. He was too selfish to put her before himself for once. He was to selfish to put anyone before himself. He was a self centered, basket case. He looked down at the white pills in his hand before dry swallowing them.

* * *

It was a little after nine when there was a knock on the door. Clutching her side as she stood from the couch she answered the it.

"Hey." Wilson said running a hand through his hair.

"Hi." Cuddy mumbled.

"He's gone missing.."

"I can't do anything to fix his problem.. I am his problem."

"Exactly Lisa. YOU are his problem. You're the only one that can fix him."

Cuddy sighed as she stepped aside and let him in.

"James.. I can't. I can't fix his problem. I thought I could.. I thought I could handle being with him.. I can't. I just can't do it anymore. I can't always be his savior. He needs to learn how to deal with his emotions without the use of drugs. He needs help and I can't give it to him. I tried. I really tried. I can't do it anymore." She wiped away at the tears that had started to fall.

"He never told you did he?"

"I don't want to hear it."

"He needs you Lisa. He needs you in his life. He doesn't know how he'll get through this without you. He's in this situation because of you."

"Don't you dare tell me this is my fault. I didn't -"

"It's not your fault. But he is in this situation because of you. Do you realize how much he loves you? The thought of you dying, the thought of losing you caused him such emotional distress that the only way he could have handled it was by relapsing. Whether you choose to believe it or not, _you _are the reason he lives for. If the simple THOUGHT of losing you caused him to take one pill, just imagine how many he's going to take now that he's lost you.."

Cuddy felt Wilson's arms around her as she started sobbing uncontrollably. She wanted to be able to help House, but she couldn't. For once in the history of their relationship she was going to be selfish. She had always been the selfless one. Everything she ever did, House had benefited from. It was time she put her needs above his, even if it would mean leaving him alone in his darkest hour.

"I can't. I wish I could. I know it's because of me but I can't. I'm not in the right state of mind to deal with both his situation and mine. I have to put my needs above his for once." She pulled away and wiped at her eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "Maybe if the roles were reversed, you would understand where I'm coming from."

"I do understand where you're coming from. I know both sides of this story. I've been following it as though it's one of my novelas." Wilson responded taking her hand.

Cuddy laughed.

"The point is that you two belong together. This is just another chapter in the story of your relationship. You gave it one shot, and a crisis caused it to end. That doesn't mean that you should throw it all away over this."

"Wilson.."

"Twenty five years. You two have twenty five years worth of history. You'll get back together. Whether it be a months from now, or maybe years from now, you will. You can't stay away from each other. I'm gonna leave you now. I'll call you tomorrow. Feel better."

She waited for the sound of Wilson pulling out of her driveway before letting herself succumb to the tears once more. Wilson was wrong. There was no future for her relationship with House. It was over.


	2. Broken

_Oh look, Chapter 2! Uhm, like I said, I'll be writing this as the season goes on, but with the way they're going, don't expect me to follow their story. There is no way IN HELL that I'm putting Dominika in this thing. HUDDY IS ENDGAME. At least here it is anyway. So yeah, enjoy and leave a review! :D_

* * *

"You're an idiot."

"Good morning to you too Jimmy." House said as he stepped aside and let Wilson inside of the luxurious hotel room he had checked into the previous night.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? This isn't going to help you."

"I don't need help. I'm fine." He lied. Of course he was _fine._ He was just peachy. The one woman who had meant more to him than any other person, but himself, had torn his heart in two and he was dealing with it in a mature, responsible way. By making irrational and immature choices, the only way he knew how to, the Gregory House way. He heard Wilson sigh before speaking.

"How many did you take?"

"Since she left or since I got here?"

"Since you got here." He pressed, running a hand through his hair.

"Six."

"Jesus Christ House! What the hell are you thinking?"

House sighed before sinking down onto the couch.

"I'm thinking that I need to manage the pain in my damn leg. That's what I'm thinking." He barked running his hand up and down his bad thigh.

"Oh really? Because I'm pretty damn sure you managed fine with the ibuprofen before any of this happened."

"Really Wilson? You really think I was managing fine on the ibuprofen alone? You of all people should know that the one thing that kept me from relapsing was the fact that I was trying to win Cuddy over, and then just as I was about to throw it all away, she came to me. You know what happened. You know that if she hadn't come and saved me, I'd have been back on Vicodin long ago."

"You're an idiot. You're only digging yourself into a deeper hole. If you want her, go get her. Go tell her what you should have told her long ago. Tell her how much she means to you. The longer you wait, the slimmer your chances are."

"Chances? You actually think she'll give me another shot? God Wilson, you're dumber than I thought."

"You're a prick."

"Just go home Wilson... I'll see you in a few days.."

He waited until he heard the door shut, before clutching the arm of the couch and grabbing the bottle of pills off of the table as wave a pain washed over him. Whether it was emotional or physical, he didn't care, and he had no intention of finding out.

* * *

Cuddy sat in her office as she watched Wilson pace in front of her, wondering how the hell she had gotten herself in to this situation.

"You told him you didn't want him to change." He stopped pacing and turned to her. "You told him you didn't want him to change." He reiterated, as if she hadn't heard the him the first time.

"I was wrong!" She took a deep breath, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. "When things go wrong, I don't want to hope that I'm not alone. I wanna know it. With House.. Every time I needed him to step up..." She paused, not knowing how to finish her thought. "He's just... never gonna be that.. It's not his fault. It's who he is.. I.. I should've known it." She reached up and wiped away a few stray tears. This was too much for her. The stress of everything that had happened in the past week was taking a strain on her. She'd been back at work for two days and she was already falling behind.

"He deserves another chance." Wilson said dropping into one of the chairs in front of her desk and passing her a tissue. She took the tissue from him before wiping at her eyes with it, thankful that she had started wearing waterproof mascara.

"I know he does... I'm just... not ready to give it to him.."

* * *

"You were wrong." Wilson said the next day as he and House sat at the bar of the hotel. House took a chug from his bottle of beer before belching.

"About what?"

"She wants to give you another chance. She's just not ready to."

House rolled his eyes at Wilson's optimism. Knowing him, he was probably just saying it to try to get him to stop being irrational over everything.

"Did she tell you that, or are you making it up to try to get me to get my act together? Because lemme tell ya, if you are -"

"I'm not making it up, you ass. She said that to me in her office as she wiped the tears away." Wilson snapped, cutting him off mid sentence.

House thought over what he had just heard for a second. His heart clenched at the fact that she was still as devastated as he was. But it also angered him. She had no reason to be upset over it. _She_ had been the one to end it. _She _ had been the one to give up on them. He took another swing of alcohol.

"If she wants to give me another chance. She knows where to find me."

* * *

_Dun..Dun.. DUN! Now what? No, seriously, NOW WHAT? I dunno where to take this from here haha, ideas are welcome.. *cough*MEGAN,LIZ, PAIGE..*cough*_


	3. Gravity

_I give thee another chapter. Leave a review. ;D_

* * *

"He jumped off of the balcony of his hotel room."

"Excuse me?" Cuddy said after spitting her coffee back into her mug. If House had jumped off of a balcony and had been hurt... She shook the thought, knowing that if he had been injured Wilson would have told her sooner.. He would have told her right?

"_Of course he would've told me." _

She looked up at him and when he didn't answer she could feel herself starting to panic. House had to have been fine... She would have known if he had been injured. PPTH was the only hospital within a twenty mile radius..Someone would have called her if he had been admitted..

"Wilson.."

"He's fine... He landed in the pool."

Cuddy let out a relieved sigh before turning on him.

"You son of a bitch. You couldn't have told me straight out that he was fine? You enjoyed watching me have that inner meltdown didn't you?" She snapped, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "I'm sorry. I'm overreacting. I shouldn't have snapped..."

"It's fine. I shouldn't have made you wait.. I just wanted to prove my point..."

"Which was?" She asked, digging through the top drawer of her desk, searching for her pain medication as she felt a sharp pain in her incision area.

"That you still care about him. You should've seen your face when I didn't respond.."

"How did you expect me to react? Of course I still care about him. You scared the shit out of me by not answering.. How would you feel if the person you loved.." Cuddy stopped herself before going any further. She had completely forgotten that Wilson knew what it felt like.

"My point was, that you still worry about him. You worry about his well being. You always have and you always will. Need I remind you how you never left his bedside after he got shot? I couldn't get you to leave for more than a few minutes at a time. Or after the accident? You were beside him every waking moment. When I went into his room the night Amber died, you were asleep in a chair beside him. You were holding his _hand, _Lisa. In your _sleep_. You were holding his hand. Cut the crap already."

"Stop. I don't need a reminder of all the times I've been there for him. I know them. I know each and everyone of them. I remember them all as if they happened yesterday. It just makes me even more disappointed that he's never been there for me."

She was surprised when she heard Wilson scoff.

"Are you serious? You're going to sit here and tell me he's never been there for you? Because you and I both now that is a lie. What about when you did IVF? Who was the one administering your injections? Who was the one who surprised us both by keeping his mouth shut and not telling anyone?"

"Stop it." She barked closing her eyes as he continued to speak.

"Or when the adoption fell through. Who was the one who went to check up on you after you were devastated? Who made let his own guards down to comfort you? They might not have been in during life or death situations but he's been there for you. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. He has, and it's pissing me off that you're choosing to believe he hasn't."

"ENOUGH." Cuddy growled. "Wilson, I love you to death, and I know you're trying to help, but I swear to god, if you don't stop pressuring me into giving House another chance, it will most likely _never_ happen. Give me some space for god's sake. It's been two weeks. He isn't even back yet, he called my secretary and told her he'd be taking some of his vacation time." Exactly what she'd expected him to do. House wasn't going to deal with this either. He was going to do everything he could in order to avoid her and their current situation. If that meant taking an unexpected vacation, so be it. It was better off that way for both of them. It gave Cuddy more time to brace herself for whatever condition he'd present himself in when he came back.

"He's taking vacation time...?"

"Yes. Did you not know?"

"No.. He told me he was coming back to work tomorrow.. He checked out of his hotel room. He told me he was going home."

"Hm. Well it's none of my business where he's gone off to.."

"You can't be serious.."

"I'm not his mother. I can't be monitoring his every movement. He's a grown man. He can make his own decisions. However idiotic they choose to be.."

* * *

"Momma, is House coming tonight?" Rachel asked as Cuddy served her her dinner. Cuddy's breath caught in her throat. It was the first time Rachel had asked if House was coming over. Just as she was about to answer, the phone rang. Letting out a relived sigh, she stood to answer it.

"Lisa Cuddy?"

"This is she."

"This is officer Ferguson. I've got a friend of yours in a cell down here. A Dr. Gregory House, sound familiar to you?"

"Yeah. Can I ask why he's down there?"

"He was driving his motor cycle while intoxicated. His blood alcohol level was .15."

"Alright.. I'll be there in a few.. How much is his bail?"

"Two Hundred ma'am."

"Thank you."

Cuddy couldn't help but wonder why he had called her. He could've called Wilson. Or one of his team members. Hell, he could've called one of his hookers. Why the hell was he calling her? To spite her. It pissed her off to know end that he would call her of all people, and what made her even more ticked off was the fact that she could never say no to him. No matter what it was. She caved. She always caved. Sighing, she called Wilson to have him watch Rachel, before heading off the the precinct.

* * *

_Oh. I know, I'm evil. I'm making you wait to see how exactly their first encounter POST break up goes. Maybe if you're generous with the reviews, I'll be encouraged to finish the next chapter before next week. ;D_


	4. Pushing You Away

_THREE DAYS IN A ROW GUYS. You love me, admit it. I'm on spring break, which explains my popping out chapters like mad. Now show your appreciation that I didn't make you wait more than 24 hours for the next chapter after that cliff hanger, AND LEAVE A REVIEW! Please and thank you! ;D_

* * *

"You're an ass."

House looked up from his cell and smirked. There stood Cuddy, arms crossed over her chest, scowling at him. He had no doubt that she was going to show up. She _always_ showed up. It wasn't in her nature to not show up. Well, it wasn't in her nature to not show up where _he _ was concerned. She always showed up when he needed her to. Struggling to get up since they'd confiscated his cane, he limped out of the cell when the officer unlocked it.

"You couldn't have called Wilson?" Cuddy hissed as he limped beside her as they made their way to the front of the precinct to retrieve his things.

"Wasn't home." He quipped, leaning against the wall for support.

"That's a lie. Why did you call me? You could've called one of your team members.. Why did it have to be me?"

"Becauseeeeeeee, I knew you'd come." He slurred as the officer handed him his leather jacket and cane. "My keys?" He asked noting that they hadn't been passed to him.

"I have them." Cuddy responded holding them up. "Let's go. You're too drunk to drive."

"Does that mean I get to spend the night with you?"

"No. It means you get to spend the night with Wilson."

He continued to walk beside her to her car, noting that she was rubbing her arms in order to keep warm. It was a little chilly out. He took his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders.

"House.. I know what you're doing.. Don't.." She responded shrugging it off.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not doing anything... You looked cold. I was just trying to warm you up.." He slurred, tripping over his feet. Cuddy caught him before he could hit the ground.

"You're such an idiot." She mumbled as she brought his arm over her shoulders, supporting him so he wouldn't fall again.

House opened his mouth to respond but he couldn't form a proper sentence in his mind, nonetheless speak without his words coming out too fast or slurred together do to his state of intoxication, so instead he kept his mouth shut as they continued their way towards her car. When they reached her car, she reluctantly helped him into the passenger's seat. Just as she was about to shut the door, he grabbed her arm. He looked up at her, not exactly knowing what emotions he was feeling as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"House.." He knew she knew exactly what he was going to do. He knew she wanted him to do it as much as his impulse was telling him to. He brought his hand to her cheek, and sighed as she closed her eyes, pressing a firm hard kiss to her lips.

"No.. I can't.. I'm sorry.. I can't do this to myself again.." He heard Cuddy murmur, pulling away and shutting his door.

"Cuddy.."

"Don't. Please.. Just don't.."

* * *

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Cuddy turned the key in the ignition, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot. Feeling House's eyes on her the entire time. How could she have let him do this to her? She knew what he was going to do, yet she still allowed him to. Maybe it was because she missed the feeling of his lips against hers, or maybe it was because at least this time, she knew it would be their last kiss. The ride was silent, yet they both were stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. She could see him looking at her through her peripheral vision. She wanted him to say something, anything. The silence between them was pulling on her heart strings. How was it possible that in so little time they had gotten to the point where it was awkward to be together? Things had never gotten like this. No matter what had happened between them. But this, this was _her_ fault. And it hurt her. She'd inflicted this on both of them by being selfish for once in her life, and as much as she hated herself for it, she was starting to regret it.

Pulling into her driveway, she closed her eyes for moment before getting out an helping him out of the car. He was too drunk to walk and she didn't need him to trip over his feet again. She let go of him once they'd reached the door.

"Wait in the kitchen." She directed as she went off to find Wilson in her living room.

"Where'd you go?" He asked when he saw her coming towards him.

"Rachel's asleep?" She asked avoiding his question.

"Yeah. Out like a light. Now stop deflecting... Where did you go?"

"I went to pick up House... Down at the precinct..." She mumbled, looking down at her feet, knowing that she would get an interrogation for this in the days to come.

"You could've called me you know. I would have gotten him.. You don't have to do this to yourself Lisa.. Where is he?"

"He's in the kitchen... He's drunk out of his mind though.."

"It's fine.. It's nothing I'm not used to.." He sighed, before squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "Go to bed. I'll lock up and deal with him. If you need anything, you know where to reach me." He said as he was turning to go.

"James?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you." She walked up to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She was thankful to have him as a friend. Especially because he knew everything. She didn't have anyone else to confide in. She made her way towards Rachel's bedroom, stopping in to check on her. She pressed a kiss to her daughter's temple before heading out and quietly shutting the door.

She entered her bedroom and got into bed without even changing into her pajamas. She was too tired to. It had been a long day, draining her physically and emotionally. She looked over at the empty side of the bed, not even bothering to swallow the lump forming in her throat. It had been awkward to be in his presence after what seemed like an eternity. It had been even more awkward to have to have him beside her, _touching_ her, _breathing_ down her neck, as she helped him into her car. She missed him. She missed having him beside her. She wiped at the tears that were streaming down her face before turning away from the empty space beside her, praying for a dreamless sleep.


	5. Apologize

_OH look and update. xD It's my last day of spring break, so might as well finish it with a chapter. Anyway, it's short like they usually are, but start expecting longer ones. ;D And don't forget, leave a review! _

* * *

Cuddy looked up from her desk as he entered her office. He noted that she looked tired, almost as if she hadn't slept well the night before. But then again, after his idiotic slip up, he himself spent the time tossing and turning, not that that was unusual to him, seeing as he hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep since she dumped him anyway. That was one of the things he missed about being with her. In the ten months that their relationship had lasted, his insomnia had almost disappeared. He met her eyes for a second before looking away and throwing the file in his hands at her.

"Approve it."

"Why are you even bothering asking? I know you're going to do it anyway." She snapped, signing it without even looking over the procedure.

"Tsk, tsk, Cuddles. Not coping well are we?"

"Coping well? _I'm _not coping well?"

He watched as she threw her head back and laughed at his comment. He was getting to her, and he was loving every minute of it.

"What the hell do you want from me House? Because I'd really like to know. I'd really like to know what I can do to get you off of my back for a few days, because obviously I'm not coping well. I'm not coping well at _all_." She emphasized.

House raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. Obviously she having some sort of emotional breakdown, and he had set it off. He almost felt bad about it as he watched her wipe the tears that had started to form in her eyes. Hesitantly, he took a step forward.

"Are you okay?" He asked genuinely meaning it. There was something about the fact that she had let this happen while at work that bothered him. Maybe she wasn't coping as well as he thought she was. He'd thought she would handle it fine seeing as she'd been the one to end it, but obviously she was doing just as bad as he was, possibly even worse. He watched as she burst into tears, obviously answering his question that she wasn't okay. He sighed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He didn't know what to do in this situation. He didn't know how to comfort people when they needed to be comforted. These situations were awkward to him, they almost terrified him. He couldn't handle his own emotional issues, nonetheless someone else's. He was starting to feel bad because he wanted to comfort her but he didn't know how to. He was in the type of situation that had caused her to end their relationship in the first place. He was unable to comfort her when she needed to be comforted. Reluctantly he took a step towards her.

"Hey.. Look, I was just trying to bug you when I said that.. I didn't know..."

"Please House, just.. Just get out.. I've had enough for the past twenty four hours.."

Typical. The one time he tries to make an effort, tries to apologize of all things, she pushes him away.  
He grabbed the file off of her desk before stalking out of her office, and making his way up to Wilson's office. If anyone knew how to deal with Cuddy when she was an emotional wreck it was Wilson, and obviously she didn't want House near her.

"Cuddy's having an emotional breakdown in her office.. Go check on her.. I don't think she should be alone right now.."

"What did you do?"

"Doesn't matter what I did. What matters is that you get your ass over there."

* * *

"I told you to get out." Cuddy snapped as she heard the door to her office open. Typical of House to come back and annoy her after only minutes of causing her to have breakdown, which she had yet to recover from. She heard the door shut and the sound of shuffling feet making their way towards her desk.  
"I told you to – Oh.." She said looking up, spotting Wilson standing awkwardly in front of her desk. "Sorry.. I thought you were -"

"House?" He asked dropping into one of the chairs in front of her. She nodded, before moping at her eyes with a tissue. She was glad that she had taken to wearing water proof mascara over the past few weeks. "What did he say?" He pressed, examining her closely.  
She took a shaky breath before responding.

"He said I wasn't coping well, and it set me off." She shook her head at how stupid her breakdown had been.

"Are you coping well? I mean, last night was pretty rough on you.. You shouldn't have gone to get him, you should've called me."

"I know that _now_." She mumbled. "I thought I could have dealt with it. I thought I could've handled picking him up and then handing him off to you, and I could have if he hadn't kissed me." She watched as Wilson raised his eyebrows, surprised at his reaction. "He didn't tell you?"

"He didn't tell me anything about last night. He refused to talk about you the entire way back to my place."

Cuddy processed this for a moment. It was odd that he hadn't mentioned anything to Wilson, he usually boasted about his exploits with her. Not to mention that Wilson had a way of getting someone to say what he wanted to hear out of them. So why hadn't he been able to get anything out of House? Then again, Cuddy doubted that House even told Wilson anything in the first place.

"That's.. interesting."

"It's weird. He normally can't shut up about you."

"That was before." She mumbled. She could feel the tears forming again as she bit her lip. _Normally_ House couldn't shut up about her. Things weren't normal anymore. Things were nowhere _near_ getting back to normal.

"Hey," Wilson said reaching out and placing hand over hers. "It's Tuesday. Come on, we'll go out somewhere instead of having lunch here like we normally do."

Cuddy laughed softly, taking a mental note to get him a present of some sort for helping her get through this.


	6. Thinking of You

_Okay I lied, I said I was going to try to make chapters longer, but to be honest, this was the perfect length for this chapter. Also, I tried something new, Wilson's POV. *le gasp* Make sure to leave a review! I promise to update soon. ^^_

* * *

Cuddy took a deep breath before entering House's office.

"What?" He asked the second she entered.

"There's a conference up in Maine next week. You need to be there. You don't even have to speak. Thursday thru Sunday."

"Who's going?"

"The head of every department and I. Our seats on the flight are already booked. You're sitting in the aisle seat, Wilson in the middle, and I get the window seat."

"Why do you get the window seat?"

"Does it matter?" She asked annoyed. Why else would she take the window? She didn't want to spend the entire trip there next to House. She didn't need him so close in proximity to her after what had happened the previous week. She didn't need to have another emotional breakdown. Especially not in public.

"Yes."

"Because, the flight is over two hours long. It's better for you and your leg to navigate in and out of the row. Or have you already forgotten that you're crippled?" She quipped before exiting his office, not even waiting for a response.

* * *

House looked up from the case file on his desk and rubbed his eyes. Three days into it and still no resolve. He glanced at the bottom right corner of his computer screen to check the time. Ten forty-five. He sighed angrily before shoving the file off of his desk in frustration. Grabbing his keys and his jacket off it's hook, he limped out of his office and towards the parking garage. He found his motorcycle and grimaced at the unfamiliar car parked beside it. That had been her spot. She had parked beside him everyday for the past ten months. He knew it was just an excuse to spend a few more minutes with him before and after work, to hold his hand for just a bit longer, but what he didn't know was how much he was going to miss those few minutes. He hopped onto his bike, putting his cane in it's holder, and neglecting to put on his helmet as he backed out of his spot. If he had known things were going to end the way they did, he wouldn't have let himself get so close, so _attached_. He'd held his tongue around her mother, he put up with her annoying sister, and hell he'd even bonded with her daughter. And damn did he miss that kid. He wouldn't admit it if he'd been asked, but she had definitely grown on him. Especially after she'd sat herself in his lap. That was the first night he'd felt as though things were going to go in his favor for once.

He was wrong.

* * *

Cuddy sat in her living room, a cup of coffee in one hand and a file that needed reviewing in the other. She looked at the pile of files that still needed to be reviewed and sighed, realizing that it was going to be a long night. She set the file aside and curled her feet up beneath herself, as she took off her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes. It was nights like this when she missed him most. She had grown accustomed to curling up beside him after nights like these. To feeling the rise and fall of his chest against her back as he unconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist. She cleared her throat before taking a sip of the dark brown liquid and resuming her work.

* * *

House hit the breaks a second too late. He swerved as the two by four missed him by mere inches, causing his bike to skid out across the road. He felt a searing pain shoot through both his leg and head as the world around him faded to black.

* * *

There were two things running through Wilson's mind after receiving the unnerving phone call. The first was whether or not he would make it to the hospital before it was too late. The second, being how he was going to break the news to Cuddy.

* * *

It was past midnight when Cuddy's cell phone went off. She groggily reached for it and checked the caller ID, wondering why on Earth Wilson was calling her at this hour.

"Make it quick Wilson. I've got to be up in five hours." She answered, sitting up in bed.

"You need to get down to the hospital now.. House's been in an accident.."

"Wilson, this isn't funny. The last time you pulled something like this I -"

"This isn't a joke Lisa... He's in a coma."

The world stopped spinning, and the phone thudded to the floor.

* * *

Cuddy pulled into PPTH, her hands shaking as she parked in the nearest space. She made her way up to ICU, spotting Wilson outside one of the rooms.

"What happened?" She blurted out, her voice trembling as her entire body shook at the sight of House's battered body through the glass doors of the room. There were IV's in his arm, and a heart monitor attached to his chest.

"He was heading home and was almost hit by a truck. He skid out. He wasn't wearing his helmet. He's got severe head trauma and he fractured his right tibia. He'll recover from the head trauma within a few days.. But his leg.." Wilson faltered, and Cuddy's heart sank.

"Don't say it. Please don't."

"The head of Ortho has him scheduled for surgery in the morning to fix the fracture, but...he might not regain full function of his leg."

* * *

_Comments? Concerns? Dramas? Tragedies? Leave them all in the reviews! ;)_


	7. Broken Arrow

_Semi longish chapter! Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review. ;)_

* * *

The automatic doors opened and Cuddy entered the room, not caring who saw her. The shades weren't drawn, and she made sure to close them as soon as the doors closed behind her. Taking a shuddering breath, she turned to face her most recent disaster.

The beeping of the heart monitor put her nerves on edge. The drip of the IV caused the recent and not so recent memories of both her hospital stay and his many. Her stay had brought the realization that she couldn't handle being with him. He couldn't change for her. He couldn't change for anyone, not even himself. _His _stay had come with the realization that she couldn't live without him.

It was almost three years since his last stay. Three years since she didn't know if he was going to wake up. If she was ever going to hear him make another suggestive comment. If she was ever going to be able to tell him how she felt about him. Even then she knew that she was in love with him. She just didn't have the nerve to tell him them. She wished she had.

Why couldn't she love him like she loved him then, regardless of whether or not he was on Vicodin? Maybe things would have been different had she told him. Maybe they would have lasted longer if she had told him when he was still on drugs. They sure as hell would have made it longer than those ten months and three days they had lasted. Ten months and three days.

Grief overcame her as she realized the date. May tenth. Just a week short of their would be one year anniversary. The tears were running down her face before she could stop them. She dropped into the chair nearest to the bed, pulled her knees up to her chest and cried. She looked over at the broken man beside her. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to despise him for everything he had put her through. She couldn't. She would never be able to. She would never be able to stop loving him.

* * *

Several hours later Wilson stood beside a hysterically anxious Cuddy as House was rolled into the OR.

"It'll be okay." He said giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. There were dark circles around them from lack of sleep and her hair was disheveled. Where was the Lisa Cuddy who could handle a situation like this? Where was Cuddy who would take charge and put all emotional attachments aside? He sighed, taking her in his arms as her hands covered her face and the sobs renewed. That Cuddy was gone. She was gone the moment she had ended her relationship with House. She was a shell of her former self, and he knew it would be long before she would ever be back.

* * *

Cuddy watched the surgery being performed from the observation deck. The same one where he'd been during her surgery, and the same one she'd sat in five years earlier when he'd been shot. She closed her eyes and sighed, wanting nothing more than to be down there in the OR "supervising", or something, but since she was still his proxy it was against the hospital's rules. Even her status as Dean of Medicine couldn't override that. She moved closer to the glass and reached out, pressing her hand against it, longing to be where she rightfully belonged.

It was nearly noon when the surgery ended and before she knew it she was back in the chair besides his bed, anxious as to how much longer he would be unconscious. She couldn't handle the site of him in front of her, immobile. She needed to see him move, or speak, anything to prove that he would be fine. She rubbed her temples, a stress induced headache already showing signs of forming. She looked up at the sound of the doors sliding open. Wilson entered looking just as disheveled as she did and handed her a water bottle, along with a pill.

"What is it?"

"It's a sleeping pill. Like the one I prescribed to you before your surgery. He's gonna be out for at least another twelve hours. Get some sleep."

"I'm not leaving. I'll sleep here." She replied, making herself as comfortable as possible in the reclining chair.

"I'll be in my office. Page me if he wakes up."

Cuddy nodded, before getting up and turning the lights off. It might have been the middle of the day, but in the windowless ICU with it's lights off and the shades around the glass doors closed, it could have been the middle of the night. She reached the recliner and repositioned herself before taking the pill. The effects set in immediately and before she knew it she was out like a light.

* * *

It was after eight when Wilson reentered the room. He immediately noted that Cuddy has pushed the recliner closer to the bed, and her fingers were intertwined with House's. She was holding his hand in her _sleep._ He shook his head and smiled at the sight. It might take some time, but there was no doubt in his mind that soon enough Cuddy would make the right choice and give House another chance. He turned on the lamp in the corner of the room and gently nudged her.

"Lisa, wake up."

"Hmmm?" She asked groggily.

"Go home, shower, get something to eat. I've got it from here."

"No, no. I can shower in my office. I don't need anything to eat, I'm not hungry. I'm fine."

"Fine. Shower in your office, but please, eat something." He said sternly. "

Ok." She mumbled begrudgingly.

He chuckled. Who would've ever thought that he, James Wilson, Boy Wonder Oncologist would be bossing around the Dean of Medicine?

* * *

Cuddy unwilling made her way to her office. She unlocked the door and shut it behind her. She walked over to the cabinet under her bookshelf and pulled out clothes she kept in there in case she needed to change. She went into her private bathroom and turned on the shower, making sure to make it extremely hot. She stripped down and groaned when the water made contact with her skin, relaxing the tensed muscles in her back and shoulders. She finished, and toweled off, making sure to call her sister to check in on Rachel after she'd changed. She made her way back to the ICU, stopping in the cafeteria to pick up something to eat. She picked a small turkey sandwich, and payed for it quickly.

"Still nothing?" She asked as she entered the room, Wilson in a corner reading a magazine.

"Nothing." He responded shaking his head.

Cuddy dropped back down in the chair she had been occupying for the last fifteen hours and unwrapped her sandwich, knowing that if she didn't eat it, Wilson would be down her throat about it, saying things about needing food for the strength to deal with this situation, unimportant little things to try to get her to eat. She would rather just get it over with than have to deal with that.

Wilson left at around eleven. Cuddy kicked off her shoes and turned on the television, flipping on the news. Just as a segment about a recent earthquake in Japan ended, she heard a soft groan beside her. She jumped at the sound, and then turned to look at House. He was regaining consciousness, and her heart was pounding as she reached over and took his hand. His eyes opened, and she let out a huff of air.

"Hi." She said softly.

"Water." House croaked, his voice hoarse from lack of use. She stood up and filled a glass of water, and brought it back to him, helping him drink.

"Thanks.." He replied, looking down at their linked hands.

She pulled her hand away and rested it in her lap, feeling her face flush.

"H-how are you feeling?" She stuttered, trying to stop herself from shaking.

"Like shit. What happened?"  
She hesitated before responding, which turned out to be a huge mistake. House noted her reluctance and a scowl overtook his features. She bit down on her lip before answering.

"You were almost hit by a truck. According to the driver you swerved just in time, but you skid out and since you weren't wearing a helmet, you have severe head trauma. You also fractured your right tibia.. You.. You might not regain proper function of your leg.."

* * *

And there they were. The words he knew were coming and he didn't want to hear. He knew it the moment he had regained consciousness and had felt the excruciating pain in his lower right leg. He wanted to punch something, _anything_, but he barely had the strength to move his head.

"I'm so sorry House..." Cuddy mumbled from beside him.

"Don't. I don't need your pity."

"Pity? Stop being a prick. Do you have any idea how worried sick I've been since Wilson called me last night? I thought you'd never wake up again. I thought I'd never feel your eyes on me again. I thought I'd fucking lost you."

"You dumped me. Why do you care so damn much?"

"Because I love you, you asshole. I will _always_ love you. Just because we aren't together, that doesn't mean that I'll stop loving you. Believe it or not, I'll keep on loving you till the day I die. When I said you were the most incredible man I'd ever known, I mean it."

"And when you said you didn't want me to change? Did you mean that too? Because obviously you went back on that when you dumped me."

"For God's sake, will you just shut up." She caught him off guard when he felt her press her lips against his. "I'm ready to give you another chance." She mumbled pulling away.

"I'm not ready to take it."


	8. Turning Tables

_Happy Monday! I hope you liked tonight's ep! I loved it. :) Anyhow, I hope you've noticed that the chapters now have titles! If you're curious as to what the songs are, don't be afraid to ask! By they way, don't forget to leave a review! _

* * *

Cuddy was taken aback by his response. It was the complete opposite of what she had been expecting. Isn't this what they had both wanted? A second chance at this relationship? It had taken almost dying to realize she couldn't be with him. It had taken almost losing him to prove that she couldn't be without him.

"What do you mean you're not ready to take it? Isn't this what you wanted? You wanted another chance. It took me two months to realize that you deserve one and now you don't want it? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

She could already feel the stinging sensation in her eyes and she hated herself for it. She hated how easily he made her fall to pieces.

"I'm damaged goods Cuddy. You don't need me."

"You're wrong." She got up and walked out of the room, and almost running to her office. The second she shut the door behind her, she collapsed onto the floor, shaking as the sobs over came her.

* * *

Wilson's phone went off at around one. It was House's attending nurse informing him that he had finally regained consciousness. He hadn't changed out of his clothes, knowing that he'd probably be back at the hospital before morning anyway. Wondering why it had been a nurse to call him and not Cuddy, he grabbed his keys and made his way back to PPTH.

He could tell by House's sullen expression when he entered the room that something was up. This thoughts were confirmed by the lack of Cuddy in the room. He knew she wouldn't have left the unless something had happened. He sighed, taking a seat in one of the chairs beside the bed.

"What happened?"

"She told me she was ready to give me another chance.." House replied nonchalantly.

"And you said no."

Silence fell between them.

"You're going to lose her."

"I know."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course not. I need her in my life. But she doesn't need me."

* * *

Cuddy picked herself up off of the floor and sat down on the couch. The same exact couch where she had sat almost two years before, crying over something House had said. Everything in her life reminded her of him. She couldn't even cry over him without having a constant reminder of him near her. She didn't hear the door open, but when she felt arms embrace her she knew they were Wilson's.

"I hate him."

"I know you do." He said as she sobbed into him.

"I love him."

"I know.. I know.."

House had completely turned the tables on her. She hated how emotional this entire situation had made months later and she was still crying. She felt weak. She knew that this was affecting her not only emotionally, but physically and mentally as well. She had lost almost fifteen pounds without even trying. She could barely sleep. Worst of all the nightmares that had led her to end things were never ending. Her nightmares had always involved his death, and over twenty four hours ago they had almost become a reality. Her biggest fear was his death and it hit her hard just how much she needed him. Even if it wasn't as a lover, she needed him in her life regardless. She'd never thought she would need a person other than family to be a part of her life as desperately as she needed him in hers.

* * *

"What do you want?" House asked as he watched his entire team pile into his hospital room.

"We just wanted to see how you were.. feeling." Masters squeaked shyly. House rolled his eyes at his youngest fellow, the one whom he'd had to hire against his will, the one who reminded him so much of the woman he'd met over two decades ago in Med school. He shook the thought, feeling the bitterness in his mouth.

"How do you think I feel?" He snapped. He watched her move towards the back of group and rolled his eyes again as he heard her stifle a sob. She was _exactly_ like the woman he'd met in Med school.

"Oh come on House, leave her alone. She's just being nice." Chase retorted.

"Oh, Aussie's defending the baby of the group? I'm guessing you've finally made it into no man's land?"

He smirked as Masters's eyes widened, and she ran out of the room.

"You're a dick." The Aussie replied before following after her.

"Hm. Chase & Masters. Who'd have thought? I thought tiny Taub would've gotten to her first... Oh wait nevermind, you and Foreman are a thing now."

He was filled with satisfaction when both rolled their eyes and exited the room, leaving him in peace. Or at least what he could consider peace. The only sound in the room was the television. There was a marathon of _Prescription Passion_ on, and he had no idea why he was even watching it. He hadn't watched an episode in over two months. He had taken to watching them with Cuddy, and since they'd been through he couldn't bare to watch it anymore.

It reminded him of her. It reminded him of feeling her weight against him as they laid on the couch, watching it together, his chin on top of her head, and her cheek against his chest, right above his heart. He felt a wave of nausea, and leaned over the side of the bed, emptying the contents of his stomach into a garbage can. He cursed himself over the fact that thinking about her could make him sick. The stupidest things reminded him of her. Everywhere he went there was something to remind her of him. Whether it be the cafeteria, where they'd eaten together side by side, with her head against his shoulder, or when he sat alone at his piano, one of the last places he'd made love to her on. He surfed through the channels, and when he didn't find anything, he flung it across the room, satisfied when he heard it knock over a lamp, and smash against the floor.


	9. Slow Show

_Leave a review! I updated twice in the last few days, I deserve 'em! Also, don't expect another update until next week. x) I need to update LU. Oh and the song the chapter is named after is this one "Slow Show" by the National. Go listen to it, it doesn't really fit, but whatever. XD_

* * *

It had taken a few days for her to be able to face him again. She had been surprised that he'd even let her stay when she'd come to see him.

"Hi." She said softly as she entered his room the day of the conference.

"What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be leaving for that conference today? He asked as she sat on the foot of his bed.

"I decided against going... I don't want to leave you alone."

"Wilson could have stayed. You didn't have to miss this because of me.."

"No, it's fine. I wanted to stay. What makes you think I wanted to sit through that anyway?" She smiled.

"You always have hated conferences..."

Cuddy bit her lip and stood, only to drop down into the recliner beside him.

"Do you need anything?"

"Cuddy."

"What?"

"Stop it."

"I'm sorry." S

he watched him roll his eyes at her, and it bothered her. He had been cold towards her before, but never this cold. She wondered if he would ever act like himself towards her again. She had broken him. He'd let her in and she ended up breaking his heart.

"Maybe I should go.." She said sighing as she stood to leave.

"No. Don't. You can stay. I don't mind.. Just.. Stop trying to take care of me.. That's what the nurses are for."

"Okay.. I'm sorry."

"And stop apologizing for nothing."

"Ok.."

* * *

She had fallen asleep on the recliner. He was watching her, curled up, almost in a fetal position. It was past six, and he knew he should wake her, but he couldn't bring himself to. She was so beautiful when she slept. He looked at the lines on her face that had appeared over the last two months. He had been right when he had said she wasn't taking it well two weeks ago. He could tell by how tired she looked in the mornings, how on some nights when he left, she was still there, filing paperwork, or signing off on cases. He realized that she had been affected by their breakup as badly as he had, possibly even more.

He'd noted her weight loss, how easily she looked like she was going to cry. He felt a pang of guilt. She may have broken his heart in two, but he was breaking her both physically and emotionally. It was no doubt that her weight loss was due to the excess load of stress he had been causing her. She was slowly but surely becoming a shell of her former self, and it was his fault. He was sucking the life out of her. He needed to stop. He knew he did, but he didn't know how. His two options were either giving her the cold shoulder for the rest of their lives and denying her existence, or letting her back in. The first was obviously the most ridiculous thing he had ever thought of.

There was no way in hell he'd be able to give her the cold shoulder, let alone deny her existence. This was Lisa Cuddy for christ's sake. There was no forgetting that woman, no matter how hard he tried. And he had tried. After their one night together in Michigan, he had tried to forget her. He truly had. Even though he'd known her for such a little amount of time, he'd gotten to know her like the back of his hand. He'd even dreamed about her. They were never sexual, but once in a while she had appeared in his dreams. Just a conversation between lost lovers. He dreamed about her for thirteen years before fate brought then back together.

Fate. Fate was one cruel son of a bitch. It had brought them together again, only to tear them apart. If he was going to take her chance, he felt in the pit of his stomach that it would be one hell of a slow show.

He was pulled from his reverie when he heard a sound beside him. The sound had obviously come from Cuddy, who was still asleep. What called his attention was that she'd said his name. He looked at her and watched her stir.

"No.. Not House.." She mumbled still asleep. House raised his eyebrow. Not House what?

Cuddy." He waited for her to stir again.

"CUDDY." He said loudly, smirking as she jumped.

"What?"

"You were talking in your sleep.."

"I said your name didn't I?" She murmured looking away suddenly.

"How did you know?"

"Because I always say your name in my sleep when I have the nightmares..." She looked up at him sadly.

He didn't know what had drawn him to do it, maybe he was having an out of body experience, but when the words slipped out of his mouth, it was too late to take them back.

"Lay down beside me.."

"W-what?"

"Lay down beside me... You're not going to be able to sleep tonight if you're having nightmares... You look like shit. Lay with me and you'll get a proper night's sleep in two months.."

"Are you sure...?"

"Cuddy, stop questioning me before I change my mind." He scooted over a bit to make a little more space for her. She climbed in beside him and he sighed when she turned his back to him.

"House?"

"What?"

"Thank you.."

He nodded in response.

_"Baby steps." _He thought to himself.

That's what it would take to mend this broken relationship.

* * *

Cuddy closed her eyes. Being so close to him after what seemed like an eternity made her heart flutter. She wanted to move closer to him, to feel his warm body against hers, but she resisted the urge to do so. Who knew how he would react to that? His body would stiffen if she stood to close, yet here he was letting her lay beside him. She hoped that this was a good sign, meaning that soon he would soon accept her chance. She knew things would take a long time to mend the damage between them, and she was okay with that. They both needed time to heal.

* * *

_I gave you hope, in exchange I expect reviews. ^^_


	10. One Step At A Time

_All I have to say is "baby steps". Oh and leave me tons of reviews because I didn't make you wait a week. :P Oh and the song is "One Step At A Time" by Jordin Sparks._

* * *

It was just after dawn when House awoke to find Cuddy with her head on his chest, still asleep. He resisted the urge the push her off. She was too close for his liking, yet he didn't want to be cruel either. She'd slept soundlessly the entire night, and pushing her off of him would surely wake her. He felt an excruciating pain in his right leg and reached for the bottle of pills beside him. He poured two into his hand and looked down at them. Those pills were what had caused all of this in the first place. He hated them almost as much as he hated himself for letting this happen. He looked down at the woman beside him. Where the pills worth losing her again? He put the pills back into the bottle, and threw it in the trash.

* * *

Cuddy awoke to find herself nestled against House's chest. Embarrassed she raised her head, hoping to find him still asleep.

"I didn't know you could sleep so long.."

"Sorry." She replied blushing a bit as she distanced herself from him.

"What did I tell you about apologizing over nothing?"

"So- okay." She said catching herself as she stood, stretching.

"What time is it?"

"Noon."

"How's the pain?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I could up your morphine..."

"I'm fine Cuddy."

"Okay.. I'm going to go freshen up and get something to eat.. You want anything from the cafe?"

"Reuben,"

"No pickles." She finished for him, smiling as he looked at her in wonder.

* * *

"Your attending says you can go home tomorrow." Cuddy said as she reentered the room, laden with food from the cafeteria.

House nodded his thanks when she handed him his sandwich and a bottle of coke. He smirked, at her lunch. It was a salad, like usual.

"Do you eat anything other than salad?"

"Of course I do. I made pasta that one time..."

"So your diet consists of only pasta and salad? Christ Cuddy. Eat a quart of ice cream or something. You're too skinny. You've lost a lot of weight."

"And you're a drug addict. We've all got our problems."

He wanted to tell her how he was going off of the drugs but decided against it. He wanted to see if this second chance came with any requests. If she really wanted to give him the chance if he was still on drugs.

"Do you want me to take you home tomorrow? You don't have any other way to get home seeing as Wilson's out of town.."

"Cuddy."

"What?"

"You're trying too hard. I need some space if we're going to try this again. You can get all clingy later. Right now it's irritating."

He watched her process what he had said, felt bad as she frowned. Maybe he was wrong. She did need him as much as he needed her. But clinging wasn't going to help the cause. Yes, she was worried about him, he knew that, but she didn't need to fuss so much over him. It made him uncomfortable. Their relationship was fragile. She was always like this when he was hospitalized but this time it was too much. It made him feel like an asshole for not being able to be there for her the one time she needed him.

"I'm going to go.. I'll be back tomorrow.." Cuddy said standing.

He let her go, knowing that she needed time to process what he had just said. He hadn't officially told her he was taking her chance until now.

* * *

He was going to take her chance. He needed some space first, but none the less he was taking her chance. Getting into her car, she smiled. She didn't care how long it took. She was happy just to know that they would get back on track some day. Hopefully soon, but if it took a while, she would be okay with that.

* * *

House went home the next day. Reluctantly he had allowed Cuddy to help him settle in a home.

"Call if you need anything." She said as she helped him onto his bed.

"Will do.." He replied, intent on calling Wilson should he need anything.

"I'll see you when you come back to work.." Cuddy said softly.

"Okay."

He watched her leave, before turning on the TV. Miraculously his leg was healing well, and even though the screws would be there for the rest of his most likely to be miserable life, he had a tiny bit of hope that it'd function properly, and not become stiff when it fully healed. He was grateful to have two weeks of medical leave due to his injury. It would give him the perfect amount of time to detox from the Vicodin without anyone realizing it. He had no intention of letting anyone, not even Wilson know what he was up to.

This was his final shot to make things right. He wanted to make it with Cuddy in the long run. They were nearing what would have been their one year anniversary and the thought that they had _almost_ made it a year made him nauseous. They could have made it past that. He needed to stop being so self destructive when things that were beyond his control went wrong. He needed to learn that no matter what, the things he did would also effect not only himself, but those around him. He was going to take one step at a time. He needed to deal with the Vicodin, only then could he try to mend his relationship with Cuddy.

Only then would he be able to get things back on track.

* * *

The conference had lasted a little over three days. When Wilson got home he was surprised to find several voicemails from a distressed Cuddy.

"Hey, it's me. I just got your messages, I felt forgot my phone here. What's up?"

"I'm worried about him Wilson. No one's heard from him since he was discharged and I took him home on Saturday.. His entire team has been calling and no response. Masters has even stopped by and he hasn't answered the door. I haven't called because.. Well because he asked me to give him some space.. We're going to give it another shot.. But he needs some space first. I don't want to call him, but I honestly don't know how much longer I can hold out..."

"I'll call him. I'll let you know okay? Stop freaking out, this is House we're talking about.. He's probably just on passed out on his couch or watching Real Housewives.."

He hung up and dialed House's number. It rang for over five minutes before he hung up. He waited a while before calling again, to no response. He sighed and grabbed his keys, intent on finding out what the hell was going on.

* * *

_Reviews?_


	11. Iris

_And a chapter! Huzzah! You'll love me. x) Leave reviews! :D Oh, and the song is "Iris" by the GooGoo Dolls. I hope you'll understand why when you hear the first line. _

* * *

House's body retched as he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. What was left in his stomach anyway. He hadn't been able to keep anything down since he'd started detoxing. Four days into detox and he was ready to call it quits. From experience he knew he had two days left, but he didn't know if he could make it through. It took six days to detox physically. Mentally, it was all up to him.

"You're detoxing?" He looked up from the toilet bowl to find Wilson standing at the door, fuzzy eyebrows raised.

"No, I've got a stomach flu." House grumbled sarcastically, laying down against the cool bathroom floor. The cold tile felt good against his clammy skin.

"Why are you doing this?" Wilson asked. House rolled his eyes before attempting to respond.

"Why do you think I'm doing this Wilson?"

"Do you really think she'll care about the drugs? If she's giving you a chance now, it's regardless of the drugs."

"You don't know her like I do." House sighed. "One day, whether it be a month from now, or a year from now, she will come to me and she will ask me to go off of the drugs. And if I don't get off of it now, it'll only be ten times worse, or I won't be willing to do it, and she'll leave again. I can't let that happen again. I let her go once, and look where it's gotten me. My leg's even more fucked up than it was before, I am in pain, and the only thing that can cure it is having her with me. I need her in my life.. And I swear to god if you ever tell anyone I said that, Sara will go mysteriously missing, and by missing, I mean I will put a hit on your precious little kitty. Got it?"

* * *

Wilson shook his head, a slight smile forming across his lips. Here was House, four days into Vicodin detox and he was still making idiotic comments.

"I got it. But in all honesty, you need to tell HER how you feel about her, not me."

"You don't know me at all do you? Do you honestly think it would be easy for me to tell her how I feel about her? Telling you? No problem. Strangers? Piece of cake. Her?" House scoffed. " I'll be able to tell her how I feel when hell freezes over."

Wilson rolled his eyes at his best friend's immaturity. If House wanted things to work with Cuddy in the long run, he would need to be able to emotionally open up to her, which obviously he was no where near doing.

"You're an idiot." He said shaking his head.

"Go away."

"If you say so. Before I go, do you need anything?"

"I can't keep anything down you idiot."

"I'll bring you some water." He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. "Here." He said handing it to House, who was still laying on the floor.

House sat up and took a sip from the bottle, and Wilson watched as he gagged and spit it out into the toilet.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" He asked concerned.

"Didn't I tell you to go away?"

"Fine. I'll see you in a week."

"Remember, not a word of this, to anyone, or the cat gets it."

"Whatever you say House."

* * *

Cuddy's phone went off and she quickly answered it, without checking the caller ID.

"He's fine." Wilson said before she could even speak. She let out a relieved sigh. "He's just taking time to himself, that's all. You'll see him again in a week."

"Okay. Thanks for doing this Wilson..."

"Don't worry about it. Who else would have been able to do it anyway?"

They hung up and she couldn't help but wonder how House was dealing with his leg pain. She should have asked Wilson, but she didn't want to know whether or not he was taking Vicodin. She couldn't handle that. She was hoping that he would stop them because they were going to give it another shot. Maybe he would. If he didn't she wouldn't ask him to. She was done trying to change him. She had tried to and it had only left them both equally broken. She couldn't try to change him again. It would do them no good. They were back at square one. It was his choice if he wanted to stay on the drugs, and regardless, she would still give him his chance. She needed him in her life. Just as much as he needed her. He may not believe that she needed him, but she did.

She needed to feel him beside her at night. She needed to feel his arms around her waist when she was making dinner. She needed him. Being with him made her happy. It made her feel safe. Being with him made her daughter happy.

House had stepped up with Rachel, and she could tell that his absence was having an effect on her. She was constantly asking when he would be back. It broke Cuddy's heart to have to make up excuses. House had proved himself to be the man she needed when it came to her daughter. He may not have been there when _she _needed him, but when it came to her daughter, he was always there. When she asked him to babysit, he did it. When she was trying to get Rachel into Waldenwood, he'd showed her how to play the games so that she would get accepted. He'd spent so much time with her daughter just to make her happy.

He'd done so many things to make her happy, and she had thrown it all away because he took one pill. She wasn't in her right mind when she ended things. She had been scared that she was going to die. She had been annoyed that he hadn't shown up until the night before. But the fact was, he had shown up. High or not, he had gone. Some part of him wanted to be there for her, he just couldn't bring himself to do it without having a crutch to lean on. He was House, and he did things slowly, and he was _trying_ and she broke his heart. She glad that he was even taking her second chance. She was the one who didn't deserve one.

She sighed, and then smiled to herself. She missed him. But she wouldn't be missing him for long. They would work things out. They would get back to where they once were soon.

* * *

_I am such a big ball of hope right now aren't I? You should thank me by, you know, leaving those reviews that I love so much. Because in all honesty, reviews are what keeps me writing this. x) _


	12. For the First Time

_BLAH BLAH WE ALL KNOW THE HORRIBLE SHIT NEWS ABOUT LISA LEAVING. I cried for days okay. NO NEED TO BRING IT UP AGAIN. AT ALL. EVEN IN YOUR REVIEWS. Seriously. Don't. xD Anyway, I'm not going to stop writing. Here's a long chapter, and yeah, leave me reviews because you love me, and i will be keeping you sane. The song is "For the First Time" by The Script. Enjoy!_

* * *

Cuddy entered House's office almost excitedly, it was early June and it was his first day back from medical leave. He looked up from his desk when he heard her enter and a slight smile spread across her face.

"Hi." She said softly, sitting down in the chair across from the desk.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?" She asked, genuinely caring how he felt. She could tell from his limp when he entered the hospital earlier that he wasn't in agonizing pain, but he was still in pain. She couldn't help but asking.

"I'm as good as I'll ever be." He responded turning back to his case file.

"That's good.."

"Yupp."

Cuddy un-crossed her legs and then recrossed them again awkwardly. . How had they gone from being so close to being so distant in such a little amount of time? She stood to leave, but stopped at the door. There was something she needed to ask him.

"House?"

"What?"

"I know you don't like birthdays, but would you like to have dinner at my place on Saturday? You only turn fifty two once.. Just you, me, and Rachel.. Maybe Wilson.."

"Uhhh, sure.. Same time as...?" He trailed off, as he looked up from the file again.

"Yeah.. Same time." She sighed sadly before exiting and walking down the hall and into Wilson's office. It was funny how House had asked if he were to show up at the same time he had shown up when they were together.

"Don't make plans for Saturday night at seven." She said dropping down into the chair in front of the desk and propping her feet up.

"Saturday.. Saturday.. House's birthday? Why? What do you plan on doing?" He asked suspiciously raising a fuzzy eyebrow.

"We're having a quiet dinner at my place.."

"Why do I need to be there?"

"Because if you don't, I'll double your clinic hours." Cuddy replied slyly. There was no way she would be able to sit through dinner with House alone after everything that had recently happened between them.

"Fine." Wilson replied, giving her a dirty look. Cuddy chuckled.

"Don't ever give someone a dirty look again. Your eyebrows knit together and it looks like there's a giant fuzzy caterpillar on your face." She laughed again as Wilson processed what she said before standing to leave.

* * *

House sat in his office rubbing his leg as his team entered the room.

"MRI shows patient has a mass in their brain.." Masters squeaked quickly as she handed him the scans. He examined the scans before handing them back to her.

"Order a brain biopsy." He said sending them off again.

"What?" He asked when he noted that Masters had stuck around.

"How long have you been in love with her?" She asked softly. House raised his eyebrow at her question. Why did Masters of all people care about his relationship with Cuddy?

"Why do you care?"

"Nothing.. I was just wondering. It's evident that you've had feelings for her for a really long time, and that she's had them for you for a really long time.. I was just curious.. I know I've only been here for a few months, but even I can tell you both really love each other.."

"Why are you suddenly probing into my personal life? I almost die and the wee little intern decides to finally care?"

"Actually, I've cared about all of my colleagues since I got here.." She said shrugging before exiting. House stared at the door perplexed, wondering what the hell that had been about.

* * *

Wilson stood in front of his mirror, contemplating on whether or not he should go to the dinner. He knew that Cuddy wanted him there for moral support, but how would she be able to fix her problems with House when she was always leaning on him as a crutch? There was no way they would be able to fix any of their troubles if he was in the middle of things acting as a peacekeeper. They needed to talk things out alone, and that's exactly what was going to happen. He walked into his living room, kicked off his shoes, and turned on the television. If not going to dinner meant having double clinic hours, so be it. They were worth it.

* * *

Cuddy stood in front of her mirror trying to decide what she was going to wear. It was six o'clock, the lasagna was in the oven, Rachel was in her room playing with her toys, and the only thing that she needed to do was find something to wear. Mission impossible. She didn't know why it was so hard for her to choose something to wear, it was just dinner with House and Wilson, nothing big, or out of the ordinary. So why was it so hard for her to get dressed? She pulled out a simple black dress and held it in front of her and smiled. It was the same dress she'd worn a few months back when House had given her a bottle of sedatives with a little red bow tied around it for her birthday. She slipped it on before running to the bathroom to do her hair and make up. She checked the clock, it was almost seven. She ran to the kitchen and set up the table for four. Now she would wait.

* * *

House stood in front of his mirror buttoning up a wrinkled purple shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror and grumbled, before undoing the buttons and pulling it off. He didn't know why he cared what he looked like. It was his birthday after all, he shouldn't need to dress up. He could show up in his pajamas if he wanted to. He knew it would upset her. He knew she was trying and he didn't want to fuck things up again. He pulled out a light blue shirt and buttoned it up. He ran a hand through his hair, and grabbed his cane and his keys.

* * *

It was seven thirty when the doorbell rang. Cuddy stood from the kitchen table, and walked down the hallway and towards the front door, stopping in front of the mirror to straighten herself out. She took a deep breath and pulled it open. There stood House, in that blue shirt that she loved so much. She couldn't help but lick her lips at how delicious he looked. She watched his lips twitch upwards and blushed.

"Happy birthday." She said stepping aside to let him in. She wanted to kiss him, but she didn't know if he would be okay with that. She hated not knowing what was okay and what was not.

"That's all Cuddles? Just 'happy birthday'? No kiss?" She smiled lightly before giving him a gentle kiss.

She pulled away and her heart skipped a beat as blue met blue. They stood, looking at each other for a seconds before she broke eye contact.

"Uhm, I guess Wilson's not coming.." House said breaking the silence as they walked towards the dining room together.

"I guess not." Cuddy replied. That was fine, Wilson would be paying for it when she doubled his clinic hours. She left House alone in the dining room and made her way to Rachel's room.

"Rach, time for dinner."

"I dun wanna eat momma. I wanna stay here and watch the pirates!"

Cuddy rolled her eyes as she glanced at the TV screen. Two pirates were laughing as a busty blonde walked the plank.

"Come on. I have a surprise for you." She said shutting off the TV and taking her daughter's hand. They walked into the dining room and she watched as Rachel's face lit up as she caught sight of House.

"House!" the little girl squeaked letting go of Cuddy's hand and running towards him. Cuddy watched as she wrapped her arms around House's good leg and smiled.

"Hey kiddo."

"I missed you, you bloody scalawag!" She cried as she continued to hug his leg.

"I missed you too."

If she hadn't heard him say it, she wouldn't have believed it. House had missed her daughter. Realization hit her as she heard Rachel call him a 'bloody scalawag'. That's who had shown her that cartoon. Who else could it have been? Of course it had been him. Who knew how much time they'd spent together while she was working late and he agreed to babysit? She sighed sadly, before running into the kitchen and pulling the lasagna out of the oven and taking it into the dining room.

"Do you want any help?" House asked as Rachel finally let go of his leg.

"No, it's fine. I just need to get the rolls and the bottle of wine.."

"Wine?"

"You only turn fifty two once.. Why, do you not drink anymore?"

"No, I still do, it's just that this is too much.."

"How is it too much?" Cuddy said leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just let me do this House. This is the first birthday that you aren't spending alone getting drunk.

"She turned back into the kitchen before he had a chance to answer and grabbed the rolls and the bottle of wine.

"This wine is over a century and a half old." House said as he examined the bottle after she placed it on the table.

"Consider it your present."

* * *

House watched as Cuddy cut up Rachel's dinner for her, admiring how great she looked. He noticed that she was in a better mood than usual, and he had no doubt that it had to do with him. He also noticed that since the last time he'd seen her she'd gained a few pounds. Not in a bad way, but in a way that made her look healthy and glowing, not pale and skeletal like she had been two weeks earlier.

"Stop staring at my chest House."

"I'm not staring at your chest. You'd know if I was staring at your chest." He said suggestively.

"Oh really then what are you staring at?"

"Have you looked in a mirror...?" He smirked as she blushed.

"If that's your take on a compliment, then thank you."

"No problem."

They made eye contact, but it only lasted a few seconds. Surprisingly, it was House who looked away first. There was something about her eyes that made him look away. Even though she looked great, the shine hadn't returned to her eyes. They sat in silence for several minutes before it was broken.

"House, are you gonna be back soon?" Rachel asked innocently.

House raised his eyebrow at the unexpected question.

"Uhm.. I -"

"Rachel, it's time to go to bed honey.." Cuddy said cutting him off before he could answer.

"I want House!" The little girl cried as she was lifted out of her high chair.

"Rach.."

"It's okay. I can put her to bed.."

House stood as Cuddy looked at him uncertainly. She placed Rachel on the ground and the little girl grabbed House's hand the second she reached him. He walked down the hallway and pushed open the door to her bedroom. Rachel dropped his hand, ran to her dresser, opened the drawer closest to the bottom and pulled out her pajamas. House smiled at how much like her mother she was. At two years old the kid was already getting her pajamas out and dressing herself. He watched her climb into her bed, and he followed her.

"Hug House!" The little girl squeaked as he sat down on the edge of her bed. She climbed into his lap and wrapped her tiny arms around him. House pat her back before she released him.

"Alright kid. Time for bed. Lay down so I can tuck you in."

He watched settle herself into bed before pulling the covers up to her chin.

"Good night House."

"Night Rachel." House stood and closed the door behind him.

"Did she go to sleep?" Cuddy asked as he found her in the kitchen placing left overs in the refridgerator.  
"Yeah." He didn't realize until now how much he had missed being around to put Rachel to sleep at night. The kid had definitely grown on him. It was odd to suddenly be in this environment all over again and pretend like nothing ever happened when it came to Rachel.

"So you gonna answer the kid's question?" He asked leaning against the wall.

"What question?" Cuddy asked skeptically.

House let out a low laugh.

"Am I going to be back soon?"

"That all depends on you and your will to come over. Of course I'll invite you over for dinner. It's your choice if you choose to accept or decline that invitation."

"And then what?"

* * *

"And then what, what? I don't know what you're asking."

"Just dinner or...?" Cuddy rolled her eyes as she realized what he was referring to. He wanted to know if they were just going to have dinner when she invited him over or if they were to participate in post dinner activities.

"Just dinner... for the time being... We can work our way back there. It's too soon.."

"Alright."

His answer surprised her. She had expected him to say something about how she was being ridiculous, or something of that matter, but he didn't. She wanted to be able to be intimate with him, but the way things had been between them before they decided to give it a shot had made them both shy away from each other. It would take time before they could get to that point again.

"I should go."

She nodded before leading him to the front door.

"Do you want to come over sometime next week?"

"Sure."

"I'll see you on Monday.." She said opening the door for him.

"See you then."

She felt his lips against her forehead before he walked away without another word. Cuddy closed the door and turned, leaning her head against it as she bit her lip and smiled. For the first time in what seemed like ages, she was happy.

* * *

_REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I'M SUCH A BIG BALL OF HOPE. And like I said before, reviews keep me writing this, so uhm how about we reach 200? ;D Also, OT3 parallel, that alone deserves a review! _


	13. Between the Lines

_KA-BOOM! Here's a new chapter yo. LOL Ignore my GY trolling, I finally unfollowed that douche bag on twitter, so of course, my life has improved majorly. ANWAY, here's another chapter. Leave me reviews since you know, I'm wonderful and all and I give you hope. Oh and the song is "Between the Lines" by the amazing Sara Bareilles. _

* * *

"How was dinner?" Wilson asked Monday afternoon as he and House sat in the cafeteria eating lunch. As always he had paid.

"It was fine."

"Fine or more than fine?" He asked curiously.

"It was fine. We had dinner and talked. What else did you expect?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to know how it'd gone without me."

"Well I told you already. It was fine."

Wilson rolled his eyes at House's reiteration.

"Okay. I heard you the first time. It was fine." As he said the last word, his pager went off. He looked at it and sighed when he realized it was from Cuddy. He had no doubt that she was about to tell him off for skipping out on dinner.

"Your mistress, she calls me."

"I'm gonna tell her you called her that."

"Of course you will." Wilson called over his shoulder as he walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Cuddy stood in front of her desk, arms crossed as she waited for Wilson. The door opened and she put on put on her best authoritative look.

"Sit." She said pointing at the chair in front of her. Wilson sat and she spoke again.

"Where were you Saturday night?" She demanded feigning anger.

"I had an emergency with a patient."

"Liar." She replied walking around her desk and sitting down. "I'm not doubling your clinic hours." She broke her angry expression and smiled. It took Wilson a few seconds to process what she had said.

"So it went well without me?"

"It went great.." Cuddy replied smiling again.

"You not showing up was the best thing that could happen."

"It went that well?"

"It did. He's coming over again tomorrow."

"Well then. I'm glad." Wilson said standing to leave.

"James?" She said as he reached the door. He turned around to face her. "Thank you." She finished.

She was thankful. When she had invited Wilson over to dinner a part of her had known that he most likely wouldn't have shown up. She had been willing to take the chances instead of simply not inviting him because inviting him reassured her that there was a possibility that she wouldn't have been alone with House. It gave her more motive to make things right with House. She didn't want to have to keep wanting to depend on Wilson for emotional support. She knew it didn't bother him, he liked needy people. She on the other hand didn't like being needy. She hated it. She sighed, and then went back to signing case files.

* * *

"You're early.." Cuddy said as she let House in.

House shrugged before replying.

"Is that a problem?"

"Oh, no. It's fine." She replied before giving him a quick kiss.

"House!" House braced himself impact as Rachel ran towards him.

"Hey kid." He said reaching down and ruffling her hair as she hugged his leg.

"Play!"

"Sure." House let Rachel skip along in front of him before turning to Cuddy.

"Since you're not done with dinner yet.."

"It's fine. Go play with her.. She's missed you.." House nodded before heading off towards Rachel's room. He smirked. Cuddy had paused when saying that Rachel had missed him because in her own subtle way, she was telling him she missed him as well. He entered the little girl's room and wasn't surprised when he saw that the cartoon they had bonded over was playing.

"Here! You be big dog. I be puppy!"

* * *

Cuddy finished up making dinner and smiled as she headed towards Rachel's room. She could hear Rachel giggling as House growled at her. She opened the door quietly and leaned against the door frame and watched their interaction. House was on his side on the floor, facing away from her. Rachel was leaned over him attempting to tickle him.

"Rawr! I'm the tickle monster!" Rachel yelled as House growled at her. Cuddy watched as House sat up and grabbed Rachel.

"GRRRRR. I'm the tickle monster!" He growled as he starting tickling the squirming toddler. Cuddy smiled as Rachel started giggling with joy.

After a few minutes, she cleared her throat.

"Dinner's ready."

"Help me up." House asked as Rachel ran towards her. Cuddy rolled her eyes before walking over and extending her. House took her hand and Cuddy gasped as he pulled her down beside him.

"I hate you." She lied as she landed flat on her ass beside him.

"If you hated me, I wouldn't be here right now." He quipped.

"That's debatable." She leaned her head against his shoulder and Rachel dropped down into her lap.

"I missed this." She whispered. It was true. She had missed enjoying the comfort of just sitting beside him with Rachel in her lap. Just the three of them as they should be.

"Okay, now really. Help me up." House said after a few seconds.

Cuddy stood Rachel up and then got herself up before eyeing House suspiciously.

"I'm not going to pull you down again. I swear." Reluctantly she grabbed one of his arms and pulled. House groaned in pain from the exertion and Cuddy couldn't help but worry.

"Are you okay?" She asked as he gripped his thigh.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"House."

"Cuddy. Don't. I'm fine."

She frowned as he limped off towards the kitchen.

* * *

"She asleep?" House heard Cuddy ask as he re-entered the kitchen.

Rachel had insisted that he put her to bed again, and being House, he couldn't say no when it came to a Cuddy. Unless said Cuddy was Arlene, or Julia, then he could say no. On the rare occasion he said no to Cuddy herself, but when it came to the youngest Cuddy, the word no was not an option.

"Yeah." He replied leaning against the door frame.

"Great." Cuddy said from the sink avoiding his eyes.

"What's wrong?" House asked noting that her shoulders were tensed as she washed the dishes.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly.

"Sorry about what?" House asked skeptically.

"I shouldn't have broken up with you.. It was stupid. We're so distant now and I wasn't in my right mind when I ended things and all of this is my fault."

"Don't." House replied rubbing his face.

"It's not your fault."

"It is."

"No. It's not Cuddy. You were scared and you needed me and I wasn't really there. I was stupid and got stoned. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

"No. Don't blame yourself House. It's my fault."

"Cuddy. Stop it."

* * *

"How can we expect this to work when we can't even properly discuss what happened? You can't expect me to keep reading between the lines House! I can't do it anymore. We need to be more open about things or this isn't going to work. I want this to work. You never even got angry afterwards. I don't even know how you felt." Cuddy said turning to look at him.

"You want to know how I felt? I felt hurt. I felt hurt over the fact that you threw everything away because I took one pill. One pill and you decided that I wasn't worth it anymore."

She could feel the tears starting to form and wiped at them quickly.

"You will _always_ be worth it. Why haven't you realized that yet?" She mumbled looking away.

"God Cuddy. You're so corny." She heard him say before she felt his arms around her.

"I'm sorry House. I'm so sorry." She cried into him as she clutched at his shirt.

"I know. I know.."

* * *

_So yeah, leave reviews. Oh and as for LU, I've got writer's block. Dunno when I'll be updating again, but I SWEAR I will try to update ASAP! :D_


	14. Hope for the Hopeless

_oh oh look! another update! TWICE IN ONE WEEK! And I've got even better news my lovelies. I have the next two chapters written and ready to post, and believe me, you'll want these next two chapters. So what's the catch? I'm going to ask for reviews of course. XD I'm evil I know! I'll post the next chapter once there are over 250 reviews. So if you want that chapter, I suggest you leave a review! Even if it's your first one ever! OH! And you might not be able to review on your account because the site is being stupid, so PLEASE, if you cannot review using your account, log out an leave an anonymous review! Okay let me shut up now and talk about the chapter. The song is "Hope for the Hopeless" by A Fine Frenzy. Oh, and two words : Time Lapses. Leave reviews okay? ;D_

* * *

"Come on Cuddles. You can't expect to have me spend the night, not get any, and then wake up hard and still not get any. It's been two months. You can't withhold sex forever."

"You have a hand, use it. I told you already. I'm not having sex with you yet. I don't care how hard you are in the morning, or when you get in beside me at night. No means no."

House rolled his eyes. They'd been back together for almost three months and they still hadn't had sex.

"But when were together the first time, we had sex right away. There was no waiting."

"That was the FIRST time. Things are different now. Things happened. Things changed." Cuddy replied as she came out of the bathroom dressed and ready for work.

"Do you plan on going to work today or what?"

"I was planning on a little morning lovin', that's what I was planning on."

House watched her smirk before she came over to him and kissed his forehead.

"Eventually okay? I'm still not ready. I'm sorry. I know, it's hard, but please.. Just wait until I'm ready. I'll make it worth your while." She replied before leaning towards him and kissing him.

"Fine." He grumbled against her lips.

"I'll see you at the hospital." She smiled as she got up.

"Your ass is huge!" House yelled after her as she exited the room.

* * *

"So she still won't have sex with you?" Wilson asked after having heard House complain for the umpteenth time in the last two an a half months of how he was getting tired of 'choking the chicken'.

"No. She says she's not ready yet. Seriously, how long does it take to get ready to have sex with someone again? Especially when you were having sex with them before? I mean if she doesn't give this crap up I'll have to-"

"I don't wanna know!" Wilson said cutting him off. Hearing House complain over the lack of sex in his life was one thing. Hearing House talk about what he did as a consolation to the lack of sex in his life was something he did NOT want to hear about. At all.

"Give her some time. You can't expect her to be ready to let you back in after everything that happened. She's not emotionally ready.

" "What did she tell you?" House asked raising an eyebrow.

Wilson laughed.

"Nothing. But trust me, I know more about women's feelings than you do given as I actually care about their feelings. To you, sex is just sex. To her, it's not. To her it's an act of passion, of desire. It shows how much two people love each other without a show of words."

"Are you sure you're not gay?"

"You're hopeless." Wilson replied smacking his hand against his forehead. He knew House was an idiot at times, but it was hard to believe that Gregory House, the world renown genius was an idiot when it came to women and their feelings pertaining to sex.

"Whatever Jimmy. I guess I'll have to wait it out."

* * *

Cuddy gasped as she felt House's lips cold against the spot where her shoulder and neck met as his arms slid across her wait, pulling her away from the sink and back towards him. She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck before pressing her lips against his. His hands moved down to her hips and he slipped his tongue into her mouth causing her to groan in approval.

"I love you." She said breathlessly as they pulled away for air. It was the first time she had said it since they started seeing each other again. She curled her fingers around the hairs at the nape of his neck.

"I know you do." House replied as he pushed her up against the counter. Cuddy hoisted herself up onto it with his help.

"Do you not love me?"

"Would I be here if I didn't?" He said silencing her with his lips before she could say anything. Cuddy smiled against his lips at his response as she wrapped her arms around his neck once again as their tongues dueled for dominance. He wasn't one to throw the words 'I love you' around, but in his own Housian way he showed it.

Cuddy felt House's hand move towards the button of her pants and she stiffened.

"No." She said firmly, pulling away and grabbing his hand.

"For fuck's sake Cuddy. Enough is enough. It's almost October."

"I said no. I meant it when I said I wasn't ready. Your world isn't going to end because I won't have sex with you. If you have a problem with that, you can leave." She said angrily pushing him away and hopping off of the counter so that they were face to face.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's just sex."

"No. It's not just sex. I said no. What don't you understand?"

"I'm leaving."

"Then leave!" She snapped as she watched him turn and walk out of the kitchen. She heard the door slam and slid down against the counter. She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head back against the cabinet.

A fight about sex. How much more ridiculous could they get? Before they would argue over not opening up to each other, over who was to blame over what happened, and now they were arguing over sex. She took a deep breath. How were they ever going to get back to where they once were at this rate? Things needed to change.

* * *

House drove around for a few hours replaying the night's events over and over again in his head. He shouldn't have pressured her. That was the wrong doing on his part. He still couldn't process why she wouldn't have sex with him. It was a puzzle that was driving him insane. He couldn't understand why. He understood that to her sex wasn't just sex, but was it honestly necessary to hold out for so long?

He sighed as he pulled up in front of her house. It was past midnight, she was sure to be asleep. He grabbed the spare key from under the mat and walked through the house silently, carefully opening the bedroom door. She hadn't changed out of her clothes and was laying with her back towards the door. He made his way over to her before climbing in beside her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I knew you'd come back." She whispered, placing a hand over his.

"I always will." He replied before pulling her to him. "I don't want to lose you again."

"I know... I know..."


	15. So Close

_Well as promised, you got the reviews to 250 so here's another chapter. And since the reviews are now at 276 due to the various reviews left by the characters (go through the reviews XD they're hilarious), in order for me to update again, I need 326 reviews. Gotta give some to get some yo. And you'll want the next chapter right away anyway so yeah. Oh and no more character reviews please. XD As for the chapter, pay close attention to the entire thing, important things happen that will come into effect later on in this story. The song is "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin. Enjoy, and leave a review! :P_

* * *

"Are you sure you don't mind watching her?" Cuddy asked Julia as she quickly threw on her coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. It was half past eight and she was running late. Her nanny had called saying she wouldn't be able to come in for the day. Julia was spending the weekend and was had gladly offered to watch Rachel for the day.

"Lisa, I don't mind at all. Now go before you make yourself even more late!"

Cuddy nodded her thanks before giving Rachel a quick peck on the cheek.

"Be good for auntie Julia okay?"

"Ok!" The little girl nodded before she ran off towards her bedroom

. Cuddy opened the front door and shivered as a cold blast of early November wind smacked her right in the . She quickly made her way towards her car and turned up the heater as she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

* * *

"Someone's in a rush." House said as Cuddy got out of her car in the hospital's parking lot. He knew she was running late for a meeting, and he himself was as well, seeing as it was the same meeting.

"Shut up." Cuddy snipped as she took the hand he had extended to her.

"What was that?" House replied, smirking as he squeezed the pressure point between her thumb and index finger.

"I hate you so much." Cuddy cried out in pain before smacking him in the chest.

"That hurt!" She pouted pressing the up button as they waited for the elevator.

House let out a low laugh as he watched her continue to rub at the space between her two fingers.

"It's not funny." She mumbled.

"Oh come on Cuddles." He took the hand that he had squeezed and kissed it gently.

"I'm sorry." He said half meaning it. He hadn't squeezed THAT hard.

"Apology accepted. Now come on. The meeting starts in 10 minutes." She said as the elevator doors dinged open and they stepped inside. They got out in the lobby of the hospital and House followed her into her office.

"Why are you wearing that sweater?" He groaned when she took off her coat, revealing the light pink v cut sweater that exposed her cleavage, much to his liking.

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"You know I do you tease. You're still wearing a chastity belt and you decide to wear THAT sweater of all sweaters? Why do you hate me?" He pouted.

"Consider it payback for squeezing my hand too hard. Only thing there will be no happy endings for you." She said grimly before heading towards the door.

"Let's go."

House limped after her, rolling his eyes at her sudden change in mood. The second he made a suggestive comment or even mentioned sex, it was like she turned super bitch mode on. He didn't know how much longer he could take it.

* * *

"Hey Jules, it's me. How's she doing?" Cuddy asked over the phone as she, House, and Wilson made their way towards the parking garage after the meeting with the heads of every department.

"Oh my god. You didn't tell me Satan was in town!" House yelled loudly towards her cell phone.

"Shut UP!" She hissed smacking him away as Wilson laughed.

"You won't think this is so funny when I give you five more clinic hours James." She quipped rolling her eyes at the boy wonder oncologist. "Mhm. Okay, I'll see you after work." She said into the phone before hanging up.

"Kid acting up then?" House asked as they reached Wilson's car.

"If by kid you mean you, then yes. If you mean Rachel, then no. She's behaving perfectly fine."

"Damn." House grumbled bitterly as they climbed into the back seat.

"Would've been fun to hear that Rachel was giving her the hell she deserves."

"Shut up." Cuddy replied rolling her eyes.

"Where are we going?" Wilson asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Anywhere."

"Hooters."

"We are not going to Hooters." Cuddy retorted smacking House's arm.

"IHOP it is then!" Wilson cheered rather enthusiastically.

"Why are you so enthusiastic about going to IHOP? Can't wait to see what the new word search for the kiddies is?" House teased.

Cuddy laughed softly at his comment before resting her head back against the seat. A sharp pain ran through the back of her head and she gasped.

"What?" Both House & Wilson turned to look at her.

"Eyes on the road Jimmy." House snapped before turning to her.

"It's nothing. Just a muscle cramp." She said shaking it off as nothing more. It wasn't the first time she had experienced the pain. It had been around for as long as she could remember, but it had never hurt that badly. She rubbed at the spot at the back of her head with two fingers.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Wilson asked looking at her thru the rear view mirror.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

* * *

House resisted the urge to squeeze Cuddy's perfectly firm ass as she leaned her forehead against his chest as they waited to be seated.

"Told you we should've gone to Hooters for lunch instead. Less wait time." He complained.

"Shut up. We haven't been waiting that long." Wilson replied.

House rolled his eyes at his friend. They'd been waiting for almost half an hour, and his leg was starting to throb from standing so long. He would have reached into his pocket and popped a couple of ibuprofen, but that would mean having to let go of Cuddy. He had no problem taking the ibuprofen in front of her. For all she knew, it was Vicodin. Not that he ever gave her the chance to see the type of pill he was taking since he'd gotten clean again.

Ibuprofen was the same shape and color as Vicodin, but the size was noticeably smaller. He had no doubt that the cat would be out of the bag if she saw what he was taking. He was still waiting to see if she would ask him to quit the narcotics. It been almost 6 months and she still hadn't. Maybe she wasn't planning on it. Maybe Wilson had been right all those months ago when he said that if Cuddy had offered him another chance she didn't care if he was on the drugs. House let out a low chuckle at the thought of Wilson being right. House knew Cuddy better than anyone. She may not have asked yet, but the time would come eventually.

* * *

"I'm leaving for the weekend." House declared as he entered Cuddy's office.

"Do you want me to come over after I get home from drinks with Jimmy?" He asked dropping down into one of the chairs in front of her desk and propping his feet up.

"Do you really want to come over with my sister there?"

"Not like it matters. Nothing will go bump in the night anyway." He shrugged. Cuddy rolled her eyes before glancing at the stack of budget reports on her desk.

"No, don't. I'm gonna be here for another few hours.. I've got a lot to do."

"Suit yourself." House replied. "See you tomorrow?" He asked emphasizing the question mark.

"See you tomorrow." Cuddy nodded as she smiled before leaning in for a kiss.

"Don't get too drunk."

"Oh I won't." He winked before exiting.

Cuddy shook her head before looking at the clock. It was five. She figured she could get in a few more reports done before she needed to go home.

Cuddy left the hospital at six. She was surprised to see it was still light out forgetting that day light's saving ended that weekend. She pulled onto her street and was surprised to see several police cars.

"Ma'am I'm afraid you'll have to go through another street." Said an officer whom she recognized as the same one whom she had met months ago when she had bailed a drunken House out of jail.

"I live here.." She replied frowning.

"What's going on?" She continued curious as to why there were so many police cars around.

"A little girl has gone missing."


	16. The Light

_I'm not black mailing you into leaving reviews, because I have nothing written after this. XD But I do know what happens next soooooo yeah! Anyhow, the chapter is named after the song "The Light" by Sara Bareilles. And yes I do use a lot of her songs as titles, because THEY FIT. :D K leave a review byeeeeee ~ _

* * *

"What the hell happened!" Cuddy demanded as she reached Julia who had just finished speaking with another police officer.

"We were outside in the yard, and the phone rang, and I ran inside to answer it, and when I came back she was gone. I wasn't even gone for five minutes! I came back out and the gate was open and she was nowhere to be seen. I drove around the neighborhood for an hour before heading back and calling 911."

Cuddy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She wanted nothing more right now than to smack her sister across the face for doing something as stupid as leaving a three year old unattended to outside.

"For god's sake Julia! This isn't Clifton. This is PRINCETON. You don't leave kids alone outside! Even if it's for less than five minutes. Not all towns are as safe as yours!" She snapped angrily. She had witnessed her elder sister do many stupid and irresponsible things over the years, but nothing was ever as stupid and irresponsible as this was.

"You would think that since you have kids, you would now not to leave mine alone outside!"

"Lise, calm down! It was an accident. I'm sorry."

"Shut the fuck up. Don't you dare tell me to calm down. Especially not when all this is your fault." She turned on her heels before heading off to find the officer who had informed her of what had happened.

"Oh yes, Dr. Cuddy, we have a few questions for you if you don't mind." He said as she reached him.

She nodded before pulling her scarf closer around her neck as another blast of wind hit her. She hoped to god that Rachel was wearing some sort of coat, or something that would protect her from the cold. She couldn't have gotten far. She couldn't have gotten far at all. Cuddy was thankful that the area she lived in wasn't surrounded by woods or some sort of body of water, for that would make her nerves even worse and her worry more apparent. On the outside, she was calm and composed, but on the inside she was barely holding it together. The worry about Rachel being abducted or hurt, or god forbid dead made her stomach turn.

"Dr. Cuddy?" She heard the officer ask, pulling her out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" She replied, her voice quivering. The officer looked at her sympathetically before speaking.

"Is there anyone who would mean to harm you by abducting your daughter?"

"No. None that I know of.. To be honest, I don't think she's been abducted officer. My sister left her outside unattended.. She came back outside and the gate was open.. Rachel's bright for a three year old.."

"Okay. We've got patrol cars scanning the area ma'am. There's nothing else we can do since you said there's no one you know of that would want to cause harm to you or your daughter. Do you have a number we can reach you at during all hours?"

"Oh yes." Cuddy said pulling out a pen and a napkin from her purse and scribbling her cell phone number down on it.

"Wait." She said as he turned to go. "I can search for her on my own right? Or do I need to stay at home and wait?"

"You can search on your own ma'am."

"Thank you Officer." She nodded appreciatively as he walked away.

She ran back towards the house, shaking with fear. She completely ignored Julia as she brushed past her as she crossed the thresh hold. She entered her bedroom and quickly changed out of her work clothes and into something she could wear in order to go out and search for Rachel. She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven – thirty. It was dark out and she was starting to feel sick from the anxiety.

She picked up her cell phone and hesitated before punching in House's number. It took three rings before he answered.

"Change your mind Cuddles?"

"Rachel's missing." She replied her voice cracking.

* * *

House had just hung up with Cuddy when his doorbell rang.

"Ready to go?" Wilson asked as he opened the door.

"Change of plans. Emergency at Cuddy's." House said shutting his door behind him.

"What kind of emergency?"

"Rachel's missing." He replied grimly, the pain in his leg from earlier in the day returning.

"WHAT? How the hell did that happen? I though Julia was supposed to be watching her." Wilson exclaimed skeptically as a look of concern spread across his face.

"Apparently the phone rang, and she went inside for few minutes to answer it, and when she came back outside the kid was gone and the back gate was open." House replied, his dislike towards Cuddy's sister growing.

Every time Julia was around SOMETHING bad happened. The first time, her mother had become House's latest patient. The second time, she had ACCIDENTALLY made Cuddy realize that he had taken vicodin, now this. The woman was a bat out of hell, a bad omen. The worst thing about everything she'd caused to happen is that Cuddy was the one suffering most from it. With their mother, Cuddy had realized that her mother would never like her as much as she liked Julia. With the break up, Cuddy had told him that Julia hadn't even bothered to comfort her as she cried her heart out at the dining room table. She merely sat there with a concerned expression and nothing more. He could only imagine how THIS situation would be. How stupid could she be to leave Rachel alone outside, even if it was for a few minutes? The woman had three kids if her own for god's sake. He slammed the door of Wilson's car as he climbed into the passenger seat.

* * *

"How is it even possible that they're even related?" Wilson grumbled as he put the keys in the ignition. He watched from his peripheral vision as House raised his eyebrows.

"What?" He replied.

"It's true. No one who's related to Lisa Cuddy could be that fucking stupid."

"Woah Jimmy, I'm impressed. Didn't know you had the balls to shit talk anyone."

"Well now you do. You and I both know that if anything were to happen to Rachel it would break her." House nodded grimly in agreement.

Wilson couldn't believe this was even happening. How could Julia be so stupid? Obviously the only people who knew how much Rachel meant to Cuddy were himself and House. He knew how hard she had tried to adopt a child only to have the adoption fall through. He'd gone with her furniture shopping. He had seen how happy she was picking out baby clothes only to watch her heart break later on. Then came Rachel, whom Cuddy had literally saved from bring raised by unfit parents. He sighed, hoping that everything would somehow be alright.

* * *

House couldn't help but feel concern pertaining to the state Cuddy would be in when they arrived at her house. He knew that she was probably holding herself together until he got there. He knew she would seek comfort in his arms the moment he arrived. Rachel was Cuddy's everything. She was the only person to never disappoint her. Cuddy loved her daughter more than life itself. House couldn't even bare to think what kind of breakdown Cuddy would have if something happened to her daughter. He knew more than anyone the struggles Cuddy endured to accomplish motherhood. He had been the one administering her IVF injections when she had been on them. He had known she had miscarried even though she herself had never told anyone but Wilson. He had been there when the adoption fell through and he watched her heart shatter. Then there came the case that changed everything.

He could remember the day he stood beside Cuddy in the NICU shortly after giving his patient's family the grim diagnosis, and the smile she had on her face when she told him she had already had the papers in order to become Rachel's foster mother. He remembered how hard it was for her to bond with Rachel, and how when she finally did the first thing she did was come to him with her in tow and then make him bond with her. He felt his lips pull upwards as he remembered Cuddy coming into his office carrying a two month old Rachel and pushing his legs off of the foot rest before handing Rachel to him. He could remember the smile on Cuddy's as she watched him look at Rachel before she spit up and she took her back.

House hadn't been around much after Cuddy's first few weeks at home with Rachel. He'd occasionally come in with his entire team to harass her and use her house for differentials but other than that he had never been around to watch Rachel grow up. When he did come into the picture, he had been hesitant towards her at first. Then he had actually started taking the necessary steps to win his way into Cuddy's heart by being reliable and actually wanting to bond with Rachel. In the time he spent with her, she had definitely worked her way into his heart.

They pulled up in front of Cuddy's house. House was halfway to the door when it flung open. Cuddy strode towards him quickly after having slammed the door behind her.

"Thanks for coming." She said as she buried her face into his chest. House wrapped his arms around her as she embraced him.

"I told you I would always come." He whispered into her ear as he felt her body tremble in his arms as she let out a soft cry.

"Don't worry.. We'll find her." He said running a hand through her hair. They stood that way for several minutes before Cuddy pulled away from him and regained her composure.

* * *

It was midnight and they still hadn't found her. Cuddy felt another wave of tears emerge and she wiped at them quickly. Her mind was racing. They had called every hospital and medical center within a five mile radius. They had rung what seemed like several hundred doorbells and no one had seen Rachel. There had been no calls from Julia nor the police, confirming that Rachel had been found. To make things even worse it had started to drizzle. It was dark, cold, and raining. Her urge to find her daughter was growing more and more by the minute.

"Cuddy, is there anywhere we might have missed that she could be?" House asked softly as he made a right onto the next street.

"No. We've been everywhere."

"Are you sure?" He pressed. Cuddy racked her brains trying to remember anywhere memorable where she had taken Rachel that the toddler might have tried to find.

"The park." She said suddenly remembering how she had taken Rachel to a pet adoption at one of the parks in their neighborhood.

"We already went to the park."

"No, no. Not that one! The one on the corner of Major and Van Houten. It's new. I took her there last weekend."

The drizzle turned into a storm as they pulled up to the park. Cuddy made to get out but House stopped her.

"Stay here. I'll go."

"But-" She protested as House exited the car and slammed the door.

* * *

House made his way towards the playground calling out Rachel's name as he did so. The rain was making it almost impossible to see. He limped towards one of the structures that were deemed worthy of using for cover from the rain. It was empty. He continued his search, coming up empty.

"Rachel!" He shouted as he reached the toddler play ground. The breeze was picking up and he saw a flash of lightening strike a few miles away. The clock was ticking. There was no doubt in his mind that the lightening was heading in his direction and with his luck he'd probably get electrocuted or crushed by a tree branch.

"Rachel!" He shouted again. It was hopeless, the kid was obviously no where in sight. As he turned to leave he heard a small cry. He turned back towards the direction he was originally walking towards. He came to a stop at the circular barrels that were part of the obstacle course for the little ones.

"Rachel!" He shouted again. He waited a few seconds before he heard the cry come from one of the barrels. Completely ignoring the stabbing pain in his thigh he bent down and looked into the barrel. Sitting with her arms around her knees was Rachel, completely dry and unscathed. He reached out to her and she took his hand. When she was out of the barrel he took of his jacket and put it on her before picking her up and heading back towards the car. Better he die from pneumonia than her.

* * *

Cuddy sat impatiently in her car as the rain continued to pour down. She was just about to get out when she House appeared out of the darkness carrying Rachel. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of her daughter unscathed and well in his arms. She opened the door and ran towards them.

"Oh my god." She whispered almost inaudibly as she took Rachel from House's arms, not believing what she was seeing. After several hours if pure hell she had her little girl back in the safety of her arms.

"Rachel. Don't you EVER scare me like that again!" She sobbed as she held her daughter tightly against her.

"I sowwy momma."

"It's okay honey. Just don't ever leave like that again okay?" She replied before kissing her daughter's forehead.

She almost completely forgot about House. He was standing beside her completely soaked and dripping.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She said kissing him after each thank you.

She leaned her forehead against his and look up at his dazzling blue eyes. She was thankful for him in so many ways. Not only had he been the one to actually find Rachel, but the fact that he had missed out on getting drinks with Wilson without any type of refusal meant the world to her. He was there for her in her time of need, something that months before he had been incapable of. He'd proved how much she meant to him once again. She didn't even see him take any vicodin, which surprised her even more because she knew his leg had been hurting all day. He was right when he said they would find Rachel. He himself had been the one to find her. House was always right, and Cuddy couldn't be happier because of that than she was at this moment.

"Thank you." She whispered softly once more.

* * *

House exited Cuddy's bathroom after he had taken a shower to find her in bed with Rachel who was fast asleep. Her hair was still damp and she was laying on her side carefully tracing her fingers along Rachel's spine.

"And were am I supposed to sleep?" House said as he continued to watch her.

"Here of course." She replied softly, patting the space beside her.

House smirked before climbing into bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she pressed her back against his chest and laid her head back against him.

Lisa Cuddy was his life. Without her he wouldn't be alive and he knew it. She had saved him more times than he could count. They had over twenty years of history together and it was a damn shame that it had taken them so long to finally realize how much they loved each other.

He took in the sight of Cuddy in front of him and Rachel and realized that this was where he wanted to be. This was his family and he didn't want to have it any other way. Life would surely throw some twists and turns at them, but in the end he would risk it all. He, Gregory House of all people had a family. People he was willing to risk everything for.


	17. In My Life

_The chapter is named after "In My Life" by the Beatles._

* * *

"What time does that fundraiser start on Friday?" Cuddy heard House ask as she brushed her teeth. She rinsed out her mouth before replying.

"Seven, and don't think you can get out of it either."

"There's snow out. It'll be below freezing, I'll slip, fall and fuck up my leg even more. Do we really want that?" House whined from inside the bedroom. Cuddy rolled her eyes before stepping out of the bathroom and walking towards her closet.

"You're not missing this fundraiser." She said in her most authoritative tone.

"Oh really? And why is that?"

"Because I need you there." She stated simply before slipping on her skirt and buttoning up her blouse. "Oh and my mother is going to stop by on Thursday night. Apparently she wants Rachel to spend the weekend with her."

"I thought your mom hated all of her grand kids."

"So did I but after the incident last month she wants to spend time with Rachel." Cuddy replied bitterly, still not willing to forgive her sister for her stupidity. She'd told her sister to leave the second they'd gotten home after finding Rachel. Things had gotten nasty quickly, but it didn't matter to her anyway. Dealing with her mother was a necessity, the woman had given birth to her. She had to put up with her, the woman had brought her into the world. But she had no reason to deal with her sister.

"Oh well guess I won't be coming over for dinner Thursday night."

Cuddy laughed softly before speaking.

"Don't even try to miss out on it."

* * *

"I hear your future mother-in-law is stopping by for a visit." Wilson said nonchalantly as House entered his office unannounced as usual.

"You should make up some excuse and get me out of it." House replied sinking down into one of the chairs. Wilson scoffed.

"Oh yeah, sure. I get you out of dinner with Arlene, Cuddy finds out and actually doubles my clinic hours. No thanks. I've taken that chance _too_ many times. Not risking it again."

"But Jimmyyyyy." House whined.

"I said no. Stop whining like that you moron. I knew you were immature, but I never thought you'd actually have the mental capacity of an eight year old when denied what you want."

"I hate you." House said glaring at him before standing and exiting.

Wilson let out a low laugh as he watched his best friend exit his office. The last thing House needed to endure for Cuddy was her mother. The first time, it had gone well. As well as it could have gone after House had drugged both him and Cuddy's mother. Not that she had remembered anyway seeing as she had thought she had had a little too much to drink. The second time however, it all went to hell when House decided to be an asshole when Arlene became his latest patient. Wilson had been out of town at the time at an Oncology convention, but he had quickly been informed of what had occurred. House had been immoral, done something stupid, almost killed his patient, the usual, nothing new. What _had_ been new though was the fact that Cuddy had been a part of everything that had happened. But then again, Arlene was her mother. He could only imagine the lengths a daughter would go to to save her mother.

* * *

"Where's my favorite granddaughter!" Arlene exclaimed as Cuddy stepped aside and let her in.

"Hello to you too ma." She mumbled as her mother walked past her as if she didn't exist. Even after everything they'd encountered the last time they saw each other they still weren't on the same page.

"Please Lisa, you've had no traumatic experiences since I last saw you." Cuddy rolled her eyes behind her mother's back. If a cancer scare, a break up, almost losing her boyfriend, and almost losing her daughter weren't traumatic experiences, she didn't know what was.

"Hi grandma!" Rachel squeaked as she ran forward to hug her grandmother. Cuddy watched as her mother bent down and picked up Rachel before giving her a peck on the cheek, astounded that she was capable of actually showing some sort of affection towards her family members.

"Dinner's almost ready." Cuddy said as she helped Arlene with her coat.

"Please tell me you didn't cook."

"I didn't. House did."

"I'm actually glad you two got back together. I wont have to deal with your attempt at cooking. You're both idiots and no one else can handle either one of you besides the other. Especially you with your high standards."

"If my standards were so high I wouldn't be with House now would I?" Cuddy snapped irritatedly.

"Show some respect." Arlene growled in return.

"Sounds like a Cuddy cat fight is brewing." House quipped as he walked into the room. "Dinner's ready." He added as he placed a reassuring hand on Cuddy's waist.

"Great. Let's get this show on the road. The quicker we get dinner over with, the sooner she's gone."

"I can hear you." Arlene snapped as she followed them into the dining room.

"I don't care."

Cuddy loved her mother. She couldn't deny that. She loved her mother with all of her heart, but  
Arlene Cuddy was the most aggravating person on the face of the planet. She was bossy, extremely blunt, and a meddler. Three qualities that did not make a very loveable person. Not that Cuddy could really say anything without sounding hypocritical seeing as those three qualities also described House. But House was different. He knew when to at least turn it down and if not her actually felt _some_ remorse after wards. But her mother was the definition of a stone cold bitch. Cuddy could recall when she was a senior in High School and had to deal with not only the pressure of passing all her AP classes, but also the pressure of being forced into being yearbook editor by her mother. She knew that it had all been for her benefit in the end seeing as everything her mother did to push her paid off when she became not only one of the few women Chief Administrators in the country, but also the _second_ youngest. She sighed, before sitting down and clearing her mind of all thoughts, ready to endure the next few hours.

* * *

As Cuddy got into bed beside him, House noted that she had been extremely quiet since the middle of dinner.

"Are you okay?" He asked cautiously as she rested her head against his chest and he wrapped an arm around her, caressing the soft skin of her arm.

"I'm fine."

"Liar." He said smirking.

"Everybody lies." She mumbled against him.

"Come on Cuddles. What's on your mind."

"My dad." She said softly.

House held her closer to him. He knew her father was a touchy subject. From the little he knew about him, Thomas Cuddy had been a police officer for over twenty - five years before his untimely death. Cuddy had mentioned in passing that her father had suffered a heart attack shortly after their encounter in Med School. He could tell from the way that she spoke about him that they had had a very close relationship. He had always assumed that Cuddy was Daddy's little girl.

"It's just that sometimes when mom gets how she does it gets to me.. I wish he was still around so that at least I would have a parent who actually showed affection towards me. There's only so much I can take. I can handle your constant insults and jabs at me because most of the time you don't mean them or you're doing it for the hell of it. But she does it because she can and she knows that I wont go as far as to tell her to stop. It'd only screw up our screwed up relationship even more."

House remained silent, lost in his thoughts of how similar he and Cuddy's lives were. Both had a parent whom they had never gotten alone with nor who had ever shown any sort of affection towards them.

"Well, the next time she's admitted into PPTH with mysterious ailments, I'll just go on vacation and problem solved.." He said sinisterly as Cuddy smacked him lightly on the chest letting out a soft laugh as he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

Cuddy slipped on the floor length black silk dress before examining herself in the mirror. She loved the way the dress made her look slimmer than she already was, with the slit that went up to her thigh showing off her toned legs. She strapped on her favorite pair of silver heels before heading into the bathroom and applying her make up. She checked herself once more in the mirror, pleased with her appearance before heading out into the living room where House was waiting on the couch with his legs propped up against the coffee table. He was wearing a black silk button down and dress pants. She smiled before he noticed her watching him.

"Well then. Don't you look stunning.." He said as he stood grabbing his cane and limping towards her.

"Why thank you." She replied smiling again as she placed her hand on his cheek before kissing him.

"Come on, let's get going or else we'll be late." They headed towards the door, stopping to put on their coats. Cuddy was surprised when she felt House help her into her coat.

"Such a gentleman." She teased.

"Oh shut up." He replied rolling his eyes.

* * *

House glanced at Cuddy from across the room as she spoke to one of the other board members, taking in just how gorgeous she looked in her silk black dress that accentuated her breasts with it's v-cut neckline and showed off her deliciously toned calves.

He worked his way back up as he checked her out again, stopping at her hips. The dress fit her perfectly, clinging to her body in all the right places, and hugging her voluptuous curves. He continued to examine her perfect body, stopping at her face. Her hair cascaded down her back in loose curls and she was wearing silver eye shadow that brought out the brilliant color of her grey eyes. He looked away from her when he heard a whistle beside him.

"She's stunning." Wilson said as he reached him.

"Hands off Jimmy, she's _mine_." House replied smirking.

"Possessive aren't we?" Wilson teased as House rolled his eyes.

"You'd be possessive too if she was your girlfriend."

"True."

They stood in silence for a few minutes before House decided to make his way over to her. The elder red haired doctor she had been speaking to had just walked away when he reached her.

"May I have this dance?" He asked in an English accent, extending a hand to her.

"Your leg?"

"Is fine." He replied moving closer to her and placing his hands on her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They slowly swayed to the music, a Beatles song, "In My Life", which House had started to hum along to. He couldn't help but notice how fitting the words were to his life. He had been to so many places throughout the world, met so many different people, yet no one could nor would ever compare to the woman in front of him at the moment.

"_In my life, I loved you more._" He sang into her ear as she looked up at him.

"I want you to stop taking Vicodin."

* * *

Cuddy looked away after muttering the words that had been eating at her for the last six months.

"That wouldn't do any good." House replied avoiding her eyes. She let go of his neck and looked up at him in utter disbelief. After all of those months of progress, he wasn't willing to take the one step that mattered most to her. His arms were still around her waist as she turned to walk away.

"Cuddy, wait." He said reaching out and taking her forearm.

"Let go." She hissed trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Let me explain."

"I don't want to hear it." She said attempting to free herself once more.

She tried to push him away and failed. She needed to get away. She did the only thing she had left to do. Taking her right hand, she lifted it ever so slightly before pulling it back and smacking him. She didn't hit him hard, just with enough strength to cause him to let go of her.

"I'm done." She whispered giving him one last look before walking away, wiping at the tears that were streaming down her face.

* * *

"Fuck." House groaned as he ran a hand over his face. Cuddy _never _let him explain himself. He grabbed his coat from the closet, running into Wilson as he put it on.

"Leaving so early?"

"Cuddy ran out on me. She asked me to stop taking Vicodin, and I told her that wouldn't do any good and she walked away before I could tell her." He replied angrily, wanting to punch the wall.

_"Fucking unbelievable."_He thought to himself as Wilson gave him a sympathetic look. He waved a quick goodbye before heading off back to Cuddy's.

He entered the house quietly and looked around. He entered Cuddy's bedroom, and spotted her across the room, on the floor of the bathroom crying.

"Cuddy..."

"Just go House.. I can't do this anymore. It's too much.. I thought we could -"

"I've been clean for over six months." He said cutting her off.

"What?" He smirked at her expression, thinking back to that night a year and a half ago and how she had caused him to have the same expression after having dropped a bomb on him. Exactly like he was doing to her.

"I'm clean Cuddy. I've been clean since the accident. I detoxed during my medical leave. The only person who knew was Wilson, and he found out because he showed up unexpectedly. I've been clean all this time. I knew you'd ask me to eventually, so I got it over with. That night I let you sleep beside me in the hospital, I woke up with you sprawled across me like I used to when we were together, and I threw the pills away. They're not worth it. They never were. Do you remember when you said I made you better and that hopefully you made me better? You've got your answer."

Cuddy looked away from him. House held onto the wall for support as he squatted down in front of her. He gently placed a hand on turned her face towards his.

* * *

Cuddy averted his gaze when he turned her face towards his.

"I'm not letting you walk away again." She looked into his eyes when he spoke.

"This isn't a dream right?" She asked leaning her forehead against his.

"Does it seem like one?"

"No."

"Then I think we're okay."

Gently, she pressed her lips against his, feeling the shock of them against hers. He pulled away from her and stood, before extending a hand to her. She took it and stood, careful not to cause him to lose his balance. She looked up at him and a soft smile appeared on her face.

A year and a half ago she had come to _him_ and here he was, coming to _her_. Their lives had had so many parallels over the years, and here was another to add to them. The way they had chosen love over being miserable twice, and sought the other out to do so. Their lives would continue to throw parallels at them, more and more things to prove that they were meant to be together. They had gone through so much together since they'd met. Their history was a never ending novel. A tale of pain, love, and redemption. Cuddy placed her hands against House's chest before smiling up at him. Gently, she took her right hand and brought it up to the same cheek she had smacked just a few hours earlier, caressing it with her fingers.

"I'm sorry. I should have let you explain before I ran off." She mumbled.

"Shhh... Don't." House replied before leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. Cuddy wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a small gasp as she felt House's lips make contact with her neck. She could feel the arousal bubbling in her lower region, the flame of desire inside of her spring to life as he ran his lips along her jawline, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She moved her hands to hiss chest, and slowly began to unbutton his shirt, resisting the urge to rip it open. She felt House pull her closer to him, moving his hands to the small of her back before she brought her hands to his face and kissed him passionately, entangling her hands in his hair as she slipped her tongue into his mouth, causing him to groan in approval.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked pulling away.

"Yes." She replied softly before kissing him again. "I love you." She whispered against his lips as his hand cupped cupped her breast through the silky fabric of her dress.

"You're my life." He muttered into her ear as she felt him take her ear lobe in between his teeth.

* * *

House slid his hands up to Cuddy's shoulders as he ran his lips along her neck, pushing down one of the straps of her dress, kissing the exposed skin there, taking in the smell of her perfume as he caressed her back with his arms. Slowly, he unzipped her dress from behind, smiling as she pushed off his shirt before letting the dress drop to the floor and stepping our of her heels. He took in the sight of her in her matching bra and pure lace panties, her ample breasts threatening to spill out of her bra as her hands moved to the button of his pants, and kicked them off after she'd gotten them unbuttoned, along with his shoes. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around Cuddy's waist before quickly hoisting her into his arms, causing her to gasp as she kissed his neck.

He laid her onto the bed, pausing to look into her eyes, passion burning in her dilated pupils as she ran her hands over his chest. He took in her beauty as she laid against the pillows, her hair fanned out round her before pressing his lips against hers, slipping his tongue into her mouth as a soft moan escaped her as he moved his hands to her chest, gently massaging her breasts. He placed one hand behind her back, and unclasped her bra, just as she pulled it off.

* * *

Cuddy pulled her bra off the second she felt House unclasp it. She took her hand and slipped it into his boxers, lightly running her fingers along his length. She laughed softly as his eyes widened when she wrapped her hand around him and started stroking him. House grabbed her and turned over so that she was up against him. She slid down between his legs, pulling his boxers down and slipping him into her mouth.

* * *

House groaned as Cuddy took him into her mouth, feeling her tongue circle his tip as her skilled hands massaged his scrotum. He could feel his orgasm come closer as she continued to bob her head back and forth. He grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her up to him before rolling over. He ran his lips along her abdomen, stopping at the waistband to her black lace panties. He slid them off, before taking one of her legs and running his lips along it, starting at the calf and stopping at her thigh. He parted Cuddy's thighs before rubbing a finger over her clit, smirking as she moaned out in pleasure and he felt her arch her body towards him, begging for more. He slipped a finger inside her before kissing her inner thigh, feeling her body shudder beneath him as she tighten around his finger. He pushed his finger deeper inside of her before running his tongue against her wet, warm flesh, savoring her sweet taste.

* * *

Cuddy cried out in pleasure as House pushed his finger deeper inside of her, feeling his tongue, warm against her flesh. She ran her hands along his back as he continued to probe her with his skilled tongue in all of the right places.

"_House._" She panted, digging her nails into the sheets. She knew she didn't need to say anything else.

House looked up at her and gave her a knowing look before teasing her entrance. She glared at him for a moment before he entered her fully, in one quick fluid motion, causing her to gasp in surprise. House placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him, pushing himself deeper inside of her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing their faces closer together. She ran her fingers along his jaw, looking into his eyes as their movements increased. House leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Cuddy took his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked on it, nipping at it gently before releasing is an pulling away from him to kiss his neck. She felt his speed increase and she moaned as their hips rocked together, his fingers traveling up to her curves and his lips finding her breasts as he started to suck on her erect nipples. She could feel herself getting closer and closer to reaching her climax. House moved his lips back up towards her neck as she her heart race increased. She ran her hands through his hair and kissed him again, seconds before crying out his name as he thrust into her once more, their bodies becoming one as her orgasm shook her to her core.

* * *

House was so close to his orgasm that he could feel it coming closer when Cuddy cried out his name and tightened around his shaft. Moaning her name, he collapsed beside her, pulling her into his arms.

The sounds of her heaving panting in his ear and the occasional moan of pleasure long after her climax had ended sent him over the edge. The fact that he was the only person who could cause her to make such sounds drove him wild. He loved the fact that he knew no one else could cause her such pleasure, just like he loved that out of all of his lovers, Cuddy was the only one gave him the high he needed to experience an orgasm. She was the only drug he needed in his life.

* * *

Cuddy rested her head against House's chest, exhausted after their passionate love making session. She was elated that everything between them was how it should be. They were okay.

"I'm hungry." House said suddenly, causing her to laugh softly.

"Did you mean it when you said I was your life?"

"Yes." He replied almost inaudibly as she felt him kiss her forehead. She kissed him lightly before pressing herself against him.

"So you're hungry huh?" She whispered seductively into his ear, making sure to take his lobe between her teeth. House looked down at her before raising an eyebrow.

"Not up for another round?" She teased.

"Oh I'm up for it all right."

* * *

_Show me your appreciation for one hell of a chapter and leave a review won't you? Oh, and whoever was leaving those character reviews, you have my permission to leave them again. XD They're freaking hilarious._


	18. Edge of Desire

_Hi! Look another long chapter. I feel the need to inform you that it's 2:14 am and you should leave me reviews because 1. you love me, 2. you want me to keep writing this, 3. I am about to inform you about future chapters. Okay so what to expect in the future, I'm going to be extremely... ambiguous I guess? Anyway. Expect something good to happen, then expect two bad things to happen. Also expect Arlene to make a reappearance in between the good and the bad. Anyway, the chapter is titled after "Edge of Desire" by John Mayer. So yeah, leave me reviews so I can continue this story you all love so much. :D_

* * *

Cuddy awoke from a relaxing night, rolling onto her side and reaching for House, only to find his side of the bed empty. Sitting up and pulling the sheets closer to her still naked body, disappointed in waking up in an empty bed, she pouted, wondering where on earth he'd disappeared to.

Glancing outside her window, she noted it was snowing. She smiled. It was perfect, a winter wonderland. She slipped out of bed, reaching over and picking House's shirt off of the floor before pulling it on and buttoning it. She made her way out of the bedroom, surprised at how quiet the house was. She searched the house for House, finding him in the kitchen. He was standing in front of the sink, his hands on either side of it, staring out the window as he focused on something in the distance.

Cuddy came up behind him and wrapped her arms him, resting her hands above his chest, pressing her cheek against his warm, strong back, enjoying the feel of his heartbeat beneath his skin. She inhaled his scent, loving every moment of having him so close to her again, the physical ache she had felt for the last six months of needing to feel him near only growing stronger.

"Stand beside me." She heard him say before obeying and reluctantly releasing him before going to stand at his side at the window. She glanced outside and realized what he had been watching so intently just minutes before.

Outside in the opening of the woods that started where her fenced in yard ended was a cream colored doe and her fawn. They were peacefully grazing the little amount of grass left visible over the foot of snow on the ground. The fawn was no more than a few days old. It was small and reminded her of Bambi in the awkward way it tried to keep it's balance and it's cautiousness in exploring the area. She continued to watch in awe as an enormous buck appeared in the clearing, cautiously making it's way over to the doe and her fawn. When he reached them, the doe approached the buck slowly, before they were nose to nose. Cuddy watched as the buck licked the doe's nose and laughed softly. An animal as strong and intimidating as he was, showing it's affection for the other by the simple gesture.

"That's you." She said softly realization setting in at the scene before her. "I'm the doe, and Rachel is the fawn..."

"Exactly." House murmured.

"Come on.. Let's go outside before they leave. I want to take some pictures of them before it's too late."

* * *

Half an hour later House stood outside in the thirty degree weather with an overly enthusiastic Cuddy as she stood beside him with her Nikon around her neck, preparing to snap a few shots of the family of deer, who to his surprise had not fled yet.

He watched as she carefully took a step forward, releasing his hand and moving with such stealth that he was curious to know why she was even capable of sneaking around that way. He continued to watch her as she brought the camera up to her face and began to take pictures. The way she took the pictures surprised him. She took them with the style of an actual photographer, changing the angles so that the lighting would not affect the over all outcome of the picture as she continued to inch her way closer to the three deer.

Lisa Cuddy never ceased to amaze him. He had known her for so long, yet the things he did not know about her were never ending. Before today he hadn't known she knew how to take pictures in such a professional manner. The things he had learned about her in the time they spent together were things most people would never bother to find out, but being Gregory House, he wanted to know everything he could about the woman who had rightfully won her way into his heart. He knew the basics, like her favorite movie, favorite flower, things of that sort, but he knew that there was so much more to the woman he had come to claim as his own.

He continued to study her as her attention remained focused on the deer. He loved the way she looked in the moment, the light snow flakes that were falling sticking in her hair, making her look even more beautiful than she already did on this early winter morning. The last time he had seen her in the snow was the night of Rachel's simchat bat, which he had missed although he had wanted to be there. Deep down he'd known Cuddy had wanted him to be there as well, but neither had had the courage to tell the other. He took her as she stood in front of him, imprinting her into his memory. Only one thing would make the memory better.

Reaching down as low as he could without causing any irritation to his stiff leg, he scooped up a handful of snow, and shaped it into a sphere before pelting it at her tush. He smirked when it made contact with the seat of her pants and she jumped, a small squeak escaping her, causing the deer the look up and finally spot them.

The family of deer quickly pranced away, just as House caught Cuddy's glare. She raised an unamused eyebrow at him before launching a snowball in his direction, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"This means war!" House shouted over to her before launching another one at her, groaning when she dodged it.

"Haha!" Cuddy shouted back tauntingly. Taking his chance he pelted another one at her, this time nailing her in the shoulder seeing as she was too occupied in teasing him over his miss to notice him even launch the second one at her. He let out a low laugh as she screamed, wiping the snow off of herself.

"Two can play at this game." She relied slyly as he watched her throw not one, but two snowballs in his direction. He limped as quickly as his leg would allow him before turning around noting that Cuddy had kept her distance, not wanting to take an advantage of him.

"Oh come on Cuddles, no need to go easy on me because I'm crippled. No special treatment! Play fair."

He instantly regret saying that when he felt two more snowballs collide with his body. Feigning pain, he grabbed at his thigh, making sure she saw him.

"Time out." He groaned, adding a bit of forced agony into his voice as he dropped to the ground.

He smirked as Cuddy immediately ran to his side, concern in her voice when she asked him what was wrong, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe we should go inside..." She said softly, her voice full of worry.

"Now why would we do that, when we could do _this._" He replied placing his hands on her hips before pulling her down into the snow on top of him.

"You faker!"

"Oh shut up." He said before gently brushing his lips against hers as she giggled.

Cuddy rested her forehead against his before he held her closer to him, placing a hand on the small of her back as he inhaled the scent of her Elizabeth Arden perfume, one of his favorite scents in the world because it reminded him of her.

"Wait." Cuddy said suddenly releasing herself from his grasp and rolling onto the ground beside him. He felt her soft, luscious lips against his rough cheek before seeing the flash of the camera.

"Perfect." She said happily as she looked at the picture on the camera's screen.

House's eyes were still flashing from the unexpected picture as he watched Cuddy smile and examine the pictures she had taken while still laying flat on her back beside him in the snow.

Quickly, he snatched the camera from her hands and decided to start a little photo session of his own, snapping several pictures of her before she managed to wrestle it out of his grasp.

"Come on lover boy, let's go back inside."

* * *

Cuddy smiled as she rested her head against House's shoulder as they sat in front of the fire place. The warmth of the blazing fire and the warmth of House beside her gave her an odd sense of peace. She leaned closer in to him, nestling her forehead into his neck as she heard him stifle a yawn.

"Did you sleep last night?" She asked looking up at his face, seeing the bags under his eyes that answered her question.

"No." He replied simply as he yawned.

Cuddy rolled her eyes before pulling away from him.

"Come on. Let's go to bed for a while."

"Nooo." House whined. "I'd rather sleep here."

"What are you going to use as a pillow?" She questioned.

"You of course." House replied as she felt him place his head in her lap.

Cuddy let out a soft laugh.

"Your head's on my vagina..." She teased, smiling as she remembered a months ago when he had shown up drunk and told her how he would chose happiness with her over being a good doctor.

"Shut up." He murmured.

It only took House a few minutes to fall asleep in Cuddy's lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, watching him sleep as she did so. She loved the way he looked so peaceful when he slept. The steady movement of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled reassuring her that she'd have him with her for another day.

She had lost count of the times she'd thought she was going to lose him. The times she sat beside his hospital bed, praying that his next breathe wouldn't be his last. Her biggest fear aside from losing her daughter was losing House. She had never felt such a strong connection with anyone before she had met him. He understood her better than she understood herself at times. He knew her like the back of his hand. There was so much more the him than he let on, and she was the only one who knew him well enough to see through that facade. She recalled the times when he confided in her the things he couldn't confide in Wilson. If his leg hurt, he would tell her. She hated to see him in pain.

She studied the lines on his face, caused by stress. The lines told the story of who he was. Carefully she ran her fingers along the lines of his forehead, making up causes for each one. The first being brought on by his infarction. The second and third being caused by his inner demons, his battle with drug addiction, his damaged childhood. She gently traced the fourth and final line, knowing that she was the cause of it. The hard times she'd given him over his unwise decisions. The way she gave him the cold shoulder when he had been fresh out of rehab, ignoring him whenever possible. The worry over losing her.

She knew that he was constantly worried about messing things up, about pushing her past her point of no return. It seemed ridiculous to her. He would never lose her. She had loved him for too long to ever let him go for good. She needed him in her life just as much as he needed her in his. She would not be the person she was today without him. The moment Gregory House entered her life, she knew it would change for good, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

She knew he was damaged. She knew he had a lot of baggage, but that didn't stop her from falling in love with him. He had his flaws and imperfections, but so did the entire world. No one was perfect.

House was smart, and talented. He never ceased to amaze her. When he solved the most complex case imaginable on his own without any help of his team, or when he told her about the different types of instruments he knew how to play, showing just how intelligent he was about everything, just not medicine. She loved every part of him. What she loved most about him was that he loved her.

House had fallen in love with her. The feelings she had felt for over a decade were reciprocated, and she loved him even more feeling the same way. He showed her in his own ways that he loved her. How he automatically wrapped his arms around her waist when they got into bed, how he whispered his affections to her while they made love. The ways he showed her his true feelings for her were endless, and she loved each and everyone of them.

Cuddy yawned, suddenly overcome with drowsiness. Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep with House on her lap, she gently nudged him.

"Come on. The bed's more comfortable than the floor." She whispered standing, and then extending a hand to him. She helped him stand, and she smiled when she felt his arms around her waist the second she got into bed, exactly what she had expected him to do.

Several hours later Cuddy sat up in bed, her stomach rumbling from lack of nutrients in her system. She rubbed her eyes groggily, before stretching her arms above her head. The clock on her nightstand read eight pm. She looked to her right at House who was still fast asleep. She pressed a kiss to his forehead before silently climbing out of bed careful not to wake him. He needed his sleep. She went into the kitchen and picked up the phone, punching in the number of a local Chinese restaurant. She hung up with the restaurant and decided to go shower seeing as she had forty-five minutes before the food would arrive.

Quietly, she reentered her bedroom and walked over to her dresser, pulling out a pair a dark purple panties, her pajamas bottoms, a tank top, and a light blue button down of House's which she slept in. It was a shirt of his that she had always loved on him. It brought out the brilliant color of his eyes and she couldn't help but sleep in it every once in a while.

She took her sweet time in the shower, letting the hot water warm her body and relax her muscles. She stepped out of it, shivering slightly as a chill ran through her before quickly dressing. She walked back to the front of the house, grabbing her purse as she did so in order to pay the delivery boy when he arrived.

She plopped down onto the couch, pulling her legs up beneath her before turning on the television. She flipped through the channels, avoiding the tacky reality shows that House loved to watch and settling on a rerun of _30 Rock_.

Several minutes passed before the door bell rang. She answered it, handing the delivery boy a twenty and telling him to keep the change, giving him a five dollar tip. She made her way into the kitchen and as she served herself she felt House wrap his arms around her waist as he pressed his lips against her jugular.

"Hey sleepy head." She turning to face him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck. She smiled up at him, before running a hand through his bed head. "I ordered dinner." She said turning back to her finish serving herself only to have him turn her back towards him and press his lips against hers.

"Oh!" She squeaked, surprised at his enthusiasm as she felt his hands on her waist as he pushed her against the counter before quickly hoisting her up onto it. He kissed her again and she could feel the necessity in it. She could feel that he wanted to be near her in that moment.

"Are you okay?" Cuddy asked breathlessly as she looked him in the eyes. House rested his forehead against her shoulder, planting a kiss to it as he did so, wrapping his arms around her.

Cuddy was taken aback by his gesture. House was _never_one to act this way. To show an almost vulnerable side of himself.

"House?"

"I love you." He whispered looking up at her.

Cuddy smiled as she laughed softly.

"I love you too." She whispered back as their fingers intertwined. It was the first time he had said it in over six months.

She ran a hand along his face, caressing his cheek as she did so, before pulling him closer and kissing him gently. She slipped her tongue into his mouth, as he brought a hand to the small of her back. He sucked on her bottom lip before moving his lips to her neck, causing her to groan in approval.

"Not here." She whispered, once again breathless.

They made their way into the bedroom, where House gently pushed her onto the bed. She sat up, running her hands across his chest as he slipped his shirt off of her shoulders with one hand and massaged her right breast with the other. She moaned into his mouth, feeling herself become more aroused as each second passed, the need to feel him inside of her as their bodies became one growing stronger.

She pulled his shirt off, running her hands along his back, as she kissed his jaw. House pushed her back again, grabbing her hips and pushing her tank top up as he kissed her abdomen. He slid her pajama bottoms off, causing her to shudder. Cuddy was surprised by how gentle he was being with her, caressing every part of her as he worked his way back up to her face. She smiled at him, before pressing her lips to his, and her hands to his chest. House rolled onto his back, and she straddled him, feeling his erection against her thigh as he pulled her tank top off, exposing her breasts. She felt a shiver run down her spine as his hands ran along her curves, stopping as he cupped her ass.

She leaned forward and kissed his neck, sucking at the point under his chin, smiling as she felt the vibration of his throat as he groaned in approval against her lips. She gasped as he suddenly turned her onto her back and slid her panties off in one fluid motion, before watching him slide his own underwear off.

He slid into her, and she moaned into his neck as he picked up a slow and steady rhythm. House pressed his lips against the spot where her shoulder met her neck, and she couldn't help but release a soft "oh" as he started to suck on it. She pulled him closer to her as he thrust into her, wrapping her legs around his waist as she nipped at his lips passionately. She felt him thrust into her again, and as his speed picked up she moaned out in pleasure as he pressed against her g-spot, feeling her self oh so close to her climax.

She moved her lips to his face, kissing every part of it that she could before crying out his name as she climaxed, feeling herself tighten around him as she panted into his shoulder. Not long after wards, House collapsed beside her, and she turned to face him, pressing her face to his chest, wanting nothing more than to stay in his arms.


	19. Teenage Dream

_I'm back! Hehe Here's another longish chapter. :D Uhm, make sure to leave a review, and don't forget to check out the new fic I uploaded! The song is "Teenage Dream", by Katy Perry. Enjoy & don't forget to leave your love! :D_

* * *

"Since when are you one to buy people birthday presents?" Wilson asked curiously as he strode behind House who was browsing through the jewelry section at Macy's.

"Since now. Why, are you jealous that I didn't put out as much for your birthday? I mean come on Jimmy, she gives me sex. Nothing you could ever give me could compare to mind blowing sex with Lisa Cuddy."

"Why am I even here?" He replied as he continued to watch his best friend examine a glass display of diamond necklaces.

When House had waltzed into his office telling him that he needed his help to pick out a birthday present for Cuddy, he had expected to be dragged to some kind adult store filled with sex toys and blow up dolls, anywhere BUT Macy's jewelry department.

"Because my dear Jimmy. You have been married three times. There is no doubt in my mind that when it comes to women and jewelry, you know exactly what tickles their fancies."

Wilson couldn't help but chuckle at House's comment. It was true. After three failed marriages, and several trips to the jewelry store in search of reconciliation gifts before finally ending the relationships, he did know what women liked when it came to jewels.

He walked up to the display House was standing in front of.

"You do realize these necklaces range from three hundred to a thousand dollars right?"

"You do realize I'm a doctor, right?" House replied sarcastically.

Wilson rolled his eyes before turning back to the display case. The selection of necklaces was beautiful. He was surprised that House was willing to go on a budget free spending spree just for Cuddy's birthday. Hell, he was still in shock over the fact that House was actually buying his girlfriend a present. From his knowledge, for her last birthday his gift had been a bottle of sedatives to use the next time her mother came around. House just simply wasn't one to show people he cared by buying them presents.

"So what's different this time? Why are you actually buying her a present?"

"Because I can."

"You never do things because you _can._There's always a reason behind the things you do."

"I'm buying her a present because I want this to work."

"And you're afraid that if you don't buy her a present, it won't work?" Wilson asked, genuinely curious to get a peak into what exactly his best friend's feelings towards Lisa Cuddy where.

"Shut up Wilson."

"No. I want an answer. Do you honestly think Lisa would break up with you because you didn't get her a birthday present?"

"No. I think that she'd break up with me for not showing as much affection towards her as she expects . That's why she'd break up with me. I know you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer Jimmy, but if you haven't noticed, I'm not very cuddly, or loveable for that matter."

Wilson couldn't help but be taken aback at House's response. Just the simple fact that House had actually let him in for once was surprising. Almost as surprising as the fact that House still had his doubts about being with Cuddy. Doubts that in his opinion were entirely ridiculous.

"She's not going to dump you."

* * *

Several hours later, House stood in Cuddy's kitchen, attempting to start dinner. It was still early, seeing as he'd skipped out on his clinic hours to go present shopping with Wilson, and since he didn't have a case, he decided to head out early in order to surprise Cuddy. He knew she'd be pissed off at his lack of productiveness at work, but he was convinced that once she saw what he had in store for her she'd go easy on his punishment.

He washed his hands before seasoning two steaks. He and Cuddy would be the only ones at dinner, seeing as he'd blackmailed Wilson into babysitting Rachel for the night. For some odd reason, Wilson too had left PPTH early, and stopped by to pick her up around four. It was now five, and House knew that he had a good two hours before Cuddy would be home from work, giving him the perfect amount of time to make dinner.

He set the steaks aside before limping to the refrigerator and pulling out two potatoes. He washed the potatoes in the sink before wrapping them both in aluminum foil before setting those aside and setting the steaks in the oven to broil. As he waited for the steaks to cook, he pulled out some butter and blue cheese, combining them in a bowl before cutting some bread into little cubes. He took the cubes of bread and sauteed them until they were a golden brown, sprinkling them in Parmesan cheese. When he finished with the bread, he took the steaks out of the oven and put the potatoes in, putting up the heat on the oven to speed up the process. As he waited for the potatoes, he topped the steaks with blue cheese, making sure to sprinkle croutons onto them as well.

With dinner finished, the last thing he needed was to set the dining room table and take the wine out of the cooler. He set the table, opting to set his and Cuddy's plates across from each other at each side of the table instead of at the heads of the table because they were too far apart. He took a step back, admiring his handiwork. He'd made sure to make the table look nice, adding candles, which was something he did once every decade if the woman was special enough.

* * *

Cuddy looked at her watch. It was six forty-five. She uncrossed her legs and slipped her heels back on before stretching her arms above her head. She shut her laptop and slipped it into her briefcase, along with a few reports to review over the weekend. She stood, walking over to her coat rack, slipping on her coat and wrapping her scarf tightly around her neck. Grabbing her briefcase and the small bouquet of Roses Wilson had given her, she headed out, locking her office door behind her.

In the half an hour it took her to get home, it had started snowing lightly. She pulled up into her driveway and carefully got out of her SUV as to not slip on any ice. She entered her house and was hit by a delicious aroma from the kitchen.

She headed into the kitchen where she found House leaning against the counter smirking.

"You do realize that you're going to have to make up those clinic hours you missed right?" She said glaring at him as he continued to give her that stupid smirk of his.

"Go into the dining room." He replied flatly.

"Why?"

"Just do it Cuddy."

She rolled her eyes in an irritated manner before exiting the room.

She walked in to the dining and took in the sight before smiling widely. House had set it up beautifully. There were two red candles that dimly lit the room and there were two wine glasses set up across from each other. She smiled again, touched that he had actually set this up just for her birthday. She went back into the kitchen still wearing the smile on her face.

"You didn't have to do this." She said softly resting a hand against his chest before reaching up on the tip of her toes and kissing him, all anger and annoyance at him wiped from her memory. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and emitted an almost inaudible moan as their tongues continued to dance for dominance and she felt House's hands slip down to the small of her back.

"Alright Cuddles, save the moaning for later." He remarked before quickly patting her ass as he released her. "Now, if you'd allow me mademoiselle, let me take you to the dining room and serve you your dinner." He continued in a thick french accent as he took her hand and led her back into the dining room.

They entered the dining room, and Cuddy was surprised when House pulled her chair out for her. She knew he could be a gentleman when he wanted to, she knew he had a romantic side, but she'd never seen him exhibit it towards her. Sitting down, she smiled up at him before watching him go back into the kitchen.

"What's this?" She asked raising an eyebrow as he set a plate of steak and a baked potato in front of her.

"What does it look like Cuddles? Steak with a topping of blue cheese and croutons, and a baked potato and sour cream. Along with bread, in the form of cubes."

"I know that you moron." She said smiling as she shook her head. "But why are you doing all of this? I would have been fine with take out.." She continued reaching across the table and caressing his hand with her thumb.

"Because I can." He stated simply without further comment.

Cuddy nodded, knowing that there was always an alterior motive to the things House did.

"Oh my god...This is scrumptious." She said taking a bite of her steak.

"So is your ass."

"Seriously though. God, why don't you make dinner more often?"

Cuddy took another bite, closing her eyes as she savored the delicious flavor of the steak. She has never eaten such a delectable meal before in her entire life. It was just another thing for her to be grateful to when it came to House.

When they finished dinner, House walked out of the room again, this time returning with a piece of chocolate cake and a candle.

"Happy birthday Cuddles." He said lighting the candle and placing the piece of cake in front of her while planting a light kiss on her cheek.

Cuddy smiled at his gesture, feeling her eyes well with tears. She didn't even know why, but the side of House she had seen tonight touched her. It was almost hard to believe that House of all people had this type of side to him. She quickly wiped away at a stray tear before blowing out the candle. The second the candle went out she felt the coolness of the frosting make contact with her face.

"I hate you." She laughed glaring at him before wiping the frosting off of her face with a napkin.

"You missed a spot." House said licking her face.

"You're so disgusting!" She replied wrinkling her nose before sticking a finger in the cake and sticking it in his face. She sucked the frosting off of the tip of her finger.

"Mmm. Did you make this?" She asked after swallowing a bite of it.

"Nope. Bought it at the supermarket." He replied before digging his own fork into it.

They finished off the piece of cake, and Cuddy took a sip of her wine before kicking off her heels.

"Come here." House said gesturing to her.

* * *

House watched as Cuddy walked over to him. He pushed his chair back and patted his lap when she reached him.

"Are you sure?" She asked curiously.

House rolled his eyes at her. If he could handle her weight during other times, he sure as hell could handle it now. Instead of responding, he pulled her onto his lap, smirking as she let out a small squeak of surprise.

"I really do hate you you know."

"Of course you do. But I highly doubt you will after you see this."

He pulled out the square box containing the necklace Wilson had helped him choose. It was a solid

silver heart pendant, on a pearl necklace, with a tiny, single diamond on the left side curve of the heart.

"What's that?" She asked surprised.

"A dildo." He replied sarcastically. "Your present, sweet cheeks. What else could it be?" He said handing it to her.

He watched her roll his eyes at him before she focused her attention back to the box. He fought back a smile as she opened the box, her face lighting up.

"Greg.. You _really_ didn't have to get me a present. Or do any of this for that matter.." She murmured examining it carefully.

House took the necklace and moved her hair aside before placing it around her neck and clasping it together.

"Oh really? Guess I'll just have to return it to the store..." He said smirking as he made to take it off of her and her hand instantly moved up to it, showing him that she liked it.

He was glad she liked it. He'd picked that one specifically because it reminded him of her in a way. Cuddy herself was like a pearl. Beautiful, strong, and rare. There were not many women like her. Women who saw the world as it was and as it could be. Who didn't see the gaping chasm in between. Women who had hope in everyone, even when they didn't deserve it.

"Thank you." She whispered softly, pressing her forehead against his as he felt her bring her hand to the back of his neck and begin to caress the hairs there.

"Enough talking, you know how to thank me." He smirked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"I do." She whispered seductively into his ear in a voice thick with lust and desire as she pressed herself closer to his already growing erection.

House growled in response before bringing his lips to her neck and sucking on it, cupping one of her breasts as he felt the vibration of her throat as she moaned in approval.

"Someone's a little frisky..." He replied pulling her closer against himself, making sure that she felt him against her leg.

"Well it is my birthday.. What do you expect, it's mandatory." She replied throatily, causing him to smirk.

He moved his lips from the base of her neck to her jaw line, running his lips up to her ear lobe and flicking it with his tongue, as she whimpered softly in agreement, moving her hands up into his hair.

He loved the sounds she made during foreplay. He loved the fact that he was the only one with the capability to cause her to make such sounds, it turned him on to no end. He moved his lips back down to her neck, pushing off her suit jacket as he did so, giving him access to her shoulders. He kissed her left shoulder as he ran his hands down her sides, and resting his hands on her hips.

He heard Cuddy gasp as his lips made contact with the top of her breasts and she pushed her chest closer to his face, egging him on. He slipped a hand under her tank top, and squeezed her breast before brushing his thumb against her taunt nipple through the silky fabric of her bra.

"Oh my god." She moaned into his ear, breathing heavily, her hands moving back into his hair as he trailed his fingers across her abdomen while working his lips back up to her face. He kissed her and she slipped her tongue into his mouth and he groaned. He wanted nothing more than to make love to her right then and there in the dining room, but resisted, knowing that the longer he teased her the more satisfying it would be in the end.

He slipped a hand between her sculpted thighs, feeling the warmth coming from her lower region.

"Guess you're in heat tonight.." He growled teasing her through her panties, causing her to arch her back towards him. He pressed his thumb against her before scooting her off of his lap and standing.

"Bedroom." He said simply, before she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him as they stumbled into the bedroom.

They fell onto the bed and House kissing Cuddy's neck as she quickly rid him of his shirt, going for his pants next. He took off his pants before placing his hands on her hips, pushing her top up to her breasts and pressing gentle kisses to her toned stomach. He snuck his hand underneath the waist of her skirt and pulled it off along with her panties in one swift motion.

He slid off his boxers and entered her slowly, teasing her entrance with the tip of his cock before thrusting into her. She moaned as he pulled her top over her head and unlatched her bra, exposing her ample breasts. He brought his lips to her neck as he gently massaged her breasts, rubbing the pad of thumbs against her nipples. He brought an arm around her back as he continued to thrust into her and she pulled him in for a passionate kiss, gnawing at his bottom lip in a lustful manner.

She wrapped her legs around his waist as he sucked at the space between her ear and neck, moving her hands into his hair as his hands explored every inch of her body.

"Oh.." She moaned as several soft whimpers escaped her.

House increased his pace, and felt her tighten around him as she panted heavily into his ear. Their lips met and she wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his back as she cried out with her orgasm, moaning his name. He followed soon after, riding on the waves of her climax, and groaning out her name as he felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of his head.

House rolled over onto his side and pulled Cuddy onto of him before kissing her forehead.

"Happy Birthday Lisa."


	20. Us

_I'm back! hehe leave a review please? :D "Us" by Regina Spektor is the song. Even if it probably doesn't fit haha. _

* * *

"Where are we going?" Cuddy asked as they drove down the highway late one march afternoon.

"You'll see when we get there Cuddles."  
She rolled her eyes and rested her head against the seat stifling a yawn.

"Oh you're too tired for this. Maybe we should do it another day.."

"No! We've been driving for a half hour, I want to know where the hell we're going. Besides, a yawn does not mean I'm tired."

"Why are you so tired anyway? You knock out cold before ten-thirty these days."

"I'm up at five, spend the day running a hospital, deal with you, do my rounds, I have no idea why I'm tired." She replied sarcastically.

"Okay granny."

"Shut up." She said smacking House's arm. "You're older than me grandpa. Now how much longer before we're there?"

"Not much."

Several minutes later they pulled up to a small rectangular building. It had no windows and it looked more like an asylum more than anything else.

"Where are we?"

"Wait until we get inside." House replied as she watched him pull a black box out of his trunk.

They exited the car, and Cuddy noted the light smell of gunpowder in the air as they approached the building. House opened the door to the building for her and she jumped slightly at the sound of a gunshot as he did so.

"Fuck!" She hissed, clutching her chest. "Why the HELL are we at a shooting range?"

"Becauseeeee," House drawled, gently pushing her inside. "The crime rate in Princeton has gone up twenty percent in the last two months. I want to make sure you and Rachel are safe should anything happen while I'm working late on a case or out with Wilson, or not with you in general."

"House you're being ridiculous. The chances of my house being robbed while I'm IN it are non existent."

"No, they're not. Cuddy, you're tiny. You're five foot four, and you weigh one twenty. There is no way in hell you'll be able to confront a five nine, two hundred pound hoodlum. This is to keep you and your daughter safe."

Cuddy considered his intentions for a minute before giving in. He was right, with the things that had been going on lately in the city, she should be prepared in case of emergency.

"Fine." She mumbled following him as he headed towards the counter.

"What can I do for ya?" asked a perky little blonde as they reached the counter.

"What's it look like blondie? This is a shooting range. We're here for target practice."

"Sorry, jeez. Don't gotta be sucha prick. What kind of gun ya got?"

Cuddy raised an eyebrow at the blonde, surprised that she hadn't been offended by House's remark.

"Glock 17."

She watched as House set the black box on the counter, pushed up the locks, and revealed the gun. She took a step back, initially shocked at the fact that House owned a gun and she had no idea. She wasn't scared of guns, she was the daughter of a cop after all, she grew up around one, hell she even recalled learning how to shoot one when she was younger, but this was too much.

"How long have you had a gun?" She asked curiously, trying to wipe her face from any signs of shock.

"Since.. I don't even know how long.." House replied nonchalantly.

"You don't know how long you've had that gun for?"

"Cuddles calm down, it doesn't matter. Anyway blondie, gimme a box of bullets."

* * *

House stood behind Cuddy as he instructed her how to shoot. He took a step back and smirked as she pulled the trigger, causing her to flinch when the gun recoiled.

"Cuddy, keep a strong grip on it so that the recoil won't be so powerful. You don't need it hitting you in the face because you freaked out when it jumped a bit in your hands."

He watched as she took another shot, this time she didn't flinch, and he felt a little proud. He looked over at the target and noted she'd hit it an inch away from the bullseye.

"Impressive for a first time shooter."

"It's not my first time.." She replied softly, handing the gun back to him.

House raised an eyebrow at her. It was the first he'd ever heard of her shooting a gun, or dealing with guns at all for that matter. He should have suspected it, seeing as her father had been a cop, but it never crossed his mind to think that Cuddy, his tiny, harmless Cuddy had ever shot a gun.

"Can we go now?" She asked rubbing her eyes as he took the remaining bullets out of the cartridge.

"Yeah hold on." He replied putting the gun back into it's case and pulling off his protective goggles and ear muffs. They walked back to the front counter, House payed the blonde their dues and headed out.

"Do you wanna stop and get a bite to eat?" He asked as he started the ignition.

"You can go through a drive through and get yourself something... I'm not hungry.. I just want to go home and sleep.."

House looked at her for a moment before pulling out of the parking lot. He was a little irked by her response. She'd been extremely fatigued as of lately. Her appetite was less and less these days. He was starting to get paranoid over it.

* * *

House watched from afar as Cuddy leaned against the counter in the clinic and placed a hand over her stomach before quickly clapping the hand over her mouth and running into her office as quickly as she could, trying her best to not draw attention to herself as she did so.

Five days. Five days in a row he had seen the same nauseous look overcome her at different times in the morning before watching her run off to the nearest restroom to empty the contents of her stomach. Morning sickness. When she had informed him that she was a week and a half late, he'd thought nothing of it, brushing it off as an early sign of menopause.

Denial. Lisa Cuddy was pregnant, and Gregory House couldn't bring himself to believe it. He was one hundred percent sure of it, but years of misfortune had taught him not to take such things in stride. He was also one hundred percent sure that she had no idea she was pregnant, thinking her symptoms were signs of the flu seeing as it was flu season, but no. He knew she was pregnant. He couldn't bring himself to hell her yet because he himself could not believe it. Gregory House a father? The thought itself scared him to death.

He sighed before heading into her office after her, intent on bringing his suspicion to light. He entered her office quietly, and headed towards the bathroom where he heard the toilet flush and waited by the door. Cuddy stepped out of the bathroom and almost knocked him over. He steadied himself before speaking.

"How long have you had morning sickness?"

"Morning sickness? What are you talking about House? I've got early flu symptoms. I do not have morning sickness."

"Cuddy, you told me you were a week and a half late two weeks ago. Did your cycle start up again yet?"

"I've been three and a half weeks late before. It's no big deal. I'm forty-five. Of course my cycle is going to be off."

"Cuddy.. You're pregnant, and you don't want to believe it."

* * *

Cuddy scoffed when she registered what House had said. There was no way in hell she could possibly be pregnant. She'd given up on the hope of bearing a child years ago when she had given up the IVF. She could not be pregnant. It was impossible.

"House come on..I'm not pregnant.. I'm just getting the flu."

"I want you to take a pregnancy test."

"If that'll get you to drop this when you're proved wrong." She replied, just as a sudden feeling of dizziness over came her. She pressed a hand against the wall to keep herself from falling just as she felt House's arm around her waist.

"Oh god." She whispered, as he helped her onto the couch.

"I know you're scared. But just take the test. Whatever happens, happens."

Cuddy smiled, knowing that he was just as scared as she was but wasn't showing it.

"Get one for me please..?" She asked softly. She watched as House nodded and walked out of the room.

She placed a hand over her abdomen, wondering if there was some chance that there was life growing inside of her womb. If there was, it would only make her life a little better, to know that there would be living proof of just how much she and House loved each other. She looked up when he returned the room and took the test from him heading off into her bathroom to take it. After she'd taken it, she left it on the sink, going back into her office to wait the five minutes to know the result. Five minutes between knowing if her life was going to change for the better or if it would remain. Five minutes. The clock ticked and her heart raced as she looked up at House, seeing her fear reflected in his face.

"It's been five minutes.." House said quietly.

"I..I..can't.. You check it.." She couldn't bring herself to check it. She'd done it too many times before only to be disappointed. She watched House go into the bathroom and come back out of it only seconds later. His expression was impassive as he walked towards her and sat down beside her on the small couch.

"It's positive."

* * *

House rested his chin against the top of his cane as he sat beside Cuddy in one of the exam rooms of the Gynecology wing of the hospital.

"That's right Cuddles, keep your legs spread just like that.." He teased, trying to erase some of the visible tension on her face.

"House.. Don't.." She replied glaring at him just as Dr. Benes, the hospital's gynecologist entered the room. Benes was a man just a few years older than House, with salt and pepper dark hair and dark green eyes.

"Drs. House, Cuddy." Benes greeted, sitting on the stool located at the end of the exam table.

House blocked everything out as Benes asked Cuddy the typical questions and performed a vaginal exam as he counted the floor tiles. Cuddy was pregnant. Somehow, he'd managed to impregnate her when no one else could. Somehow, he was beginning to embrace the thought of fatherhood. Rachel wasn't hard to handle, how much harder could another kid be? He was pulled out of his reverie when Cuddy tapped him on the shoulder.

"You can look up now. Unless you want to miss out on the ultra sound."

"Miss out on the first picture of our satanic parasite? NO WAY!" He said enthusiastically, once again receiving a glare from her. "Okay.. I'll stop." He watched silently on the monitor as Benes yapped away, passing the wand over Cuddy's lower abdomen. He still couldn't quite process the fact that he and Cuddy were going to become parents. He'd literally had less than two hours to take everything in seeing as Benes had pushed back an appointment to make room for them.

"So it seems to me that you're about six weeks along, Dr. Cuddy." Six weeks, meaning that the date of conception was somewhere around late January to early February.

"Well that's it." Benes said as he handed a few paper towels to Cuddy. I'll have the ultra sounds sent down to your office by my secretary ."

House watched Cuddy nod before watching Benes exit the room.

"Why so quiet preggo?"

"Nothing.. Just thinking.."

* * *

Cuddy awoke, not at all surprised to find House's hands on her growing lower abdomen. The news of her unexpected pregnancy was old news to them, seeing as she was now nine and a half weeks along. They had opted to not let anyone outside of Wilson and their family members know in fear of a miscarriage, and so far no one had suspected a single thing. Of course that was before Masters had congratulated Cuddy when sent by House to get a procedure approved. It had shocked her at first, to realize that the young intern was more like House than she had thought. That she was just as, if not more observant then he was. At nine and a half weeks she wasn't showing yet, there was no way to tell, and seeing as House hadn't told anyone, it only showed just how observant Masters could be. She placed her hands over his and caressed the back of his hand with her thumb before turning to face him.

"Hi." She whispered softly, smiling up at him and nuzzling herself closer to his chest. House responded by wrapping his arm around her.

She rested her forehead against his shoulder and inhaled his scent. Some of her favorite moments with him where when they'd just woken up, too groggy to speak or say more than just hi. Instead they just stayed in each other's arms, enjoying the peace and comfort before having to experience the stressful work day ahead of them. They stayed that way for several minutes before getting dressed and ready for work.

An hour later they said their goodbyes in the main lobby of the hospital, Cuddy headed towards the clinic and House towards who knows where.

* * *

"No case." House declared as he entered his outer office. "Clinic, now. Do your hours or some shit. Don't know, don't care, just get out of my site... Except you Masters." He finished, stretching his arm out to stop her as she made to exit. "Sit.

Masters hesitantly obeyed, and House smirked as a fearful expression over came her face.

"How did you know?"

"E-excuse me?"

"Come on Masters. Don't play dumb. How did you know Cuddy was pregnant?"

"Oh.. Well wasn't it obvious? She was very pale when she had morning sickness, and she'd gained a few pounds, not that it was noticeable or anything, I mean I hope to look like that when I'm her age -"

"Okay. That's enough. Just, don't tell anyone alright?"

"My lips are sealed Dr. House.." "Alright, scram kid."

She nodded and exited the room quickly, causing him to let out a low chuckle at how scared of him she was.

When House received a page from Cuddy several hours later, his mind was in a completely different place as to why he was being called down. In his mind, he was being paged for a quickie. Cuddy's hormones had been raging for the last few days and she'd already practically jumped him once. In reality, he was in for quite a surprise.

"Well the schmuck who knocked my daughter up has finally appeared."

House stopped short when he heard Arlene speak.

"Why is the wicked witch of the west back?" He groaned as Cuddy joined him at his side.

"She wants us to meet Jesus..." She whispered into his ear.

"I heard that. Now, now. Lisa. We both know that I'm not here to a you to Jesus.. I'm here to congratulate you both on the miraculous conception of your bubbula... Jesus just came along as well."

"So where is your mexican tamale?" House quipped, looking around the room. He was surprised that Arlene and her married boyfriend were still together. If that couple could last over a yeat, there had to be hope for him and Cuddy.

"He's getting the car." She replied coldly.

"And why is he getting the car?" "They're taking us out to lunch.." Cuddy commented nonchalantly.

"Hell. No." He replied, turning to exit the room. Dinner with Arlene was one thing, but dinner with Arlene and her boyfriend? House was not interested in it. Especially if he was going to have to sit through another of her hypocritical lectures about marriage and conversion.

"House... Please.." He felt Cuddy place a hand on his bicep and sighed.

"Please.." She said softly, looking up at him.

He couldn't say no. Especially not now, when she actually needed him to be there with her. He knew that Arlene would chew Cuddy out over something, or degrade her, something that would upset her, and at this point the last thing Cuddy needed was the extra stress over something unnecessary.

* * *

Half an hour later, Cuddy sat besides House, twirling her straw in her glass of coke as the others around her sipped wine. She would kill for a glass of wine, seeing as it would definitely help her ignore her mother's incessant lecturing over things she really didn't care about.

"Lisa, when are you and Gregory getting married?"

"Who knows. When are you and Jesus getting married?" She retorted slyly, looking across the table at her mother and her boyfriend. Jesus blushed and Cuddy tried her best to not roll her eyes. He wasn't a bad man. Actually, she'd been surprised at how sweet he was. How the hell her mother had landed someone like that, she would never know.

"Well his divorce is pending. We'll see where it goes from there, won't we Jesus?"

"Yes my cariño." The man responded in a soft mexican accent.

Cuddy stifled a laugh as she gripped House's arm.

"Oh my god, this is ridiculous." She whispered into his ear.

"Tell me about it.. Watch this."

She turned back to her drink before turning back to House when she heard what he said to her mother.

"Okay Arlene, why are you of all people pressuring us to get married, when you're the other woman in your relationship? Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect either, but I sure as hell wouldn't pressure someone into getting married when I'm in the process of destroying someone else's marriage. I mean.. Come on, now. We'll get married when we want to, IF we want to."

Cuddy couldn't control herself any longer. She started laughing, and when her mother tried to reprimand her it only made things ten times worse.

"Lisa. Why do you find this so amusing?"

"Because.. It's true.. You're telling ME to get married, when your boyfriend is cheating on his wife with you. I have more chances at not living out the rest of my life alone than you do. House may have his flaws, but at least he would never cheat on me or anyone for that matter... Stop trying to control my life. I'm forty-five years old. I don't need you telling me what to do. I'm perfectly fine. Worry about yourself!"

She took a deep breath, calming herself. She'd been wanting to speak up for herself for so long, and thanks to House, she finally did.

"Lisa, you don't mean any of this. You're just emotional because of your hormones. Don't be ridiculous."

"Okay ma, believe what you want to believe. But drinking away your issues isnt going to change anything."

"That is enough. I will not be spoken to this way. This is exactly why I like your sister better than you."

Cuddy let out a soft gasp, shocked that her mother would bring the subject up again.

"Okay no. I'm tired of your treatment of your daughter Arlene. It's bullshit. You're jealous of her because she actually got somewhere in life, unlike you, who's nothing more than a just a desperate housewife, who gets off on making her kid feel like shit. Degrade Lisa all you want when you're with her alone, but sure as hell don't do it in front of me because I have the balls to tell you off over it. Come on Cuddy, we're leaving."

Cuddy stood, shocked at what had come out of House's mouth. _No one_ had ever spoken to her mother that way.

* * *

House sat in Cuddy's living room sipping on a glass of whiskey as he watched a new episode of _The Real Housewives of New Jersey_. She'd gone out to buy some ice cream, leaving him alone in the meantime with Rachel.

"That lady has big boobies." Rachel giggled pointing at one of the women on screen.

"Alright kid, time for bed. Can't let your mom hear you talking like that or else she might think I'm a bad influence.. Which I am.. But still. Guess that'll gotta change now that there's a bun in the oven."

"I want a bun!"

"Noo, you don't kid. I'm not letting you have any buns until you're thirty." House replied getting up from the couch and extending his hand to the little girl. "Come on kid. Bed."

"Okays."

After putting Rachel to bed, House resumed his show, only to be interrupted by his cell phone going off.  
"You're interrupting my show. This better be good." He snapped as he answered it, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Is this Gregory House?"

"No, this is Bill Clinton."

"Mr. House, please refrain from joking around. This is a serious matter. There's been an accident.. Your girlfriend, Lisa Cuddy, has been injured."


	21. Heartbreak Warfare

_HIIIIIIIIIIIIII! Uhm this is kind of short. :/ But at least it's something. Blame 30 Rock, Doctor Who, & The Good Wife for the delay and any future delays for that matter. Oh and my birthday was on Saturday, so you guys should be generous with the reviews. xD Also, the song is "Heartbreak Warfare" by John Mayer, even though it's not really relevant. Oh well. x)_

* * *

"Where the hell is she!" House yelled angrily as he entered PPTH's emergency room.

"She's getting an x-ray..." He heard Chase behind him.

"Why the _fuck _is she getting an x-ray?" He growled, already limping his way towards radiology.

"She injured her wrist in the accident. She's already gotten stitches for her forehead, the scratches on her face have been cleaned. She just needs to get her wrist checked out and she'll be put in a room. Calm down before you do anything stupid."

House took a deep breath before continuing his way to radiology. When he reached there, he leaned against the wall, and glared at Chase who had followed him down there.

"Why are you still here? Don't you have one of your hook ups waiting for you in the on call room?"

"She's going to be fine.. You don't need to worry about her House.. You're not losing her."

The sympathy in Chase's tone surprised him. Was it that obvious that he was afraid of losing her? He nodded his acknowledgment before watching the younger doctor walk away.

It was a half hour before anyone approached him. Apparently Cuddy had broken her wrist and was getting the cast put on it. She would then be transferred into a room and he could go up to see her. He looked at his watch. Ten-thirty.

At eleven o'clock yet another nurse approached him.

"She's in room five-seventeen. She's a trooper that Dr. Cuddy. Wouldn't let us give her any meds while the cast was being applied.. Anyhow, you can go up and see her now."

He took in the sight of her and felt sick to his stomach. There were several scrapes on her face, stiches above her left eyebrow, and her right wrist was in a splint, but what got to him was her expression. The tears in her eyes and the loss of sparkle in them told him everything.

"House.."

He sighed sadly, the realization of losing yet another good thing in his life setting in and pulling at his heart strings as he reached the hospital bed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his heart as she sobbed into him.

"I'm so sorry.. I know how excited you were for this baby and now I lost it.. I'm so sorry House..."

"Shhh...Cuddy.. Don't it's not your fault.. You can't blame yourself for this... Things happen.. They're not what people deserve, but there's nothing we can do.." He said softly into her ear, running one hand through her hair.

* * *

"Miss anything while I was up at Oncology?" Wilson asked when he returned to the empty ER. He'd been on the night shift and the ER was so dead he'd decided to spend a few hours with some of the younger patients in Oncology.

"Sure as hell did." replied Nurse Jeffery, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Dr. Cuddy's been admitted."

"What?" Wilson asked slowly, knowing that it had been true he would have known.

"You heard me. Dr. Cuddy's been admitted." Jeffery reiterated slowly.

"What, why?"

"Car accident. No big deal. Some moron ran a stop side and rammed into her side of the car. Broken wrist, some scratches on the pretty little face of hers, actually needed stitches on her forehead... Oh, and did you know she was pregnant?"

"_Was_?" Wilson asked incredulously.

"Lost it in the accident. Never thought I'd ever feel bad for House, having to deal with a girlfriend who just miscarried."

"What room is she in?"

"Five seventeen."

_"Oh for fuck's sake. Can't these two get a chance at happiness for once?" _Wilson asked himself as he headed towards the elevators, rubbing his face irritatedly. No wonder House didn't believe in God. If he had experienced the amount of pain in his life House had, he to would not believe in God. If there was another being who could control the universe, then he was one cruel mother fucker. To have two people go through as much as both House and Cuddy have have only to make them go through more was horrific.

He pulled himself from his terrible thoughts, beginning to doubt in the existence of god as well, just as the elevator reached the fifth floor. He walked down the eerily quiet corridor and came to a halt in front of room five seventeen. He glanced inside and the scene before him broke his heart. There was House, holding a devastated Cuddy, with a mournful look on his face as he stared directly at the wall in front of him. He caught Wilson's eye for a second and Wilson had to look away. The painful look in his best friend's eyes was too much. He slumped down against the wall, feeling a lump form in his own throat, commiserating with his grieving friends.

The loss of their unborn child was not what House and Cuddy deserved. It was not what anyone deserved for that matter, but they were the ones who had suffered enough in their lives. He'd seen them go through so much, and every time they came out of it, he knew that their feelings for each other were becoming more and more apparent. Every time they had faced a crisis, he'd seen them fall a little more in love. It didn't matter if they hadn't told each other yet, Wilson had always known. He could tell from the way House automatically looked up when Cuddy entered the room, or how Cuddy's eyes always lit up when she saw House. The love his two friends had for each other was undeniable. He hated how much they'd had to go through to finally realize that they couldn't be apart.

He looked up when he saw the rubber tip of a cane from his peripheral. He watched as House slumped down against the wall opposite to him.

"How is she?"

"She's asleep."

Neither spoke. The two friends remained in silence for several minutes.

"We were going to name it Elizabeth.. If it was a girl.."

Wilson looked up at the expression on House's face and sighed sadly.

"Tom if it was a boy.. After her dad.. Thomas Gregory House.."

He watched as House angrily punched the wall beside him, leaving noticeable hole. It surprised him to see House so upset. He hadn't known that his best friend had wanted children so badly.

"I'm sorry House..."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

Cuddy was discharged from the hospital three days later. House watched as one of the nurses helped her into a wheelchair, seeing as she was still sore before heading off to the parking lot. He pulled up in front of the hospital and helped her into the car.

The ride back to her place was eerily quiet, which was understandable with the trauma they had recently experienced. The silence between them was almost painful. As the radio hummed quietly, House glanced across at her. She was staring blankly out of the window, her expression impassive and stone like. He watched as she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw for a second before reaching over and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

When they got home, he helped her inside, keeping a hand around her waist, seeing as it was the most he could do for her.

* * *

"Mommy! I missed you!" Rachel squeaked when she caught sight of her mother as Cuddy eased herself onto the couch. Cuddy couldn't help but smile. No matter how much emotional or physical pain she was in, no matter how terrible or stressed she felt, Rachel would always bring an immediate smile to her face.

"Come here baby." She said softly calling out to her. She watched as Rachel ran towards her and then settled herself into her lap. "I missed you too honey." She whispered, holding her daughter closer to her and kissing her forehead. She could feel the tears starting to well in her eyes at the fact that she was no longer going to be having another child.

"Momma sad?"

"Yeah honey. Momma's sad." She murmured.

She held Rachel for a few more minutes before letting her go and run off into the kitchen where Cuddy knew House and Wilson were sitting. She closed her eyes and sighed, before feeling a sharp stab in her lower abdomen. She cried out in pain, and was not surprised when both House & Wilson came in to check on her.

"What's wrong!" Wilson asked his voice full of concern.

"Nothing.. Cramp. That's all... I'm fine.. It's nothing abnormal under the circumstances."

"Are you sure?"

"Jimmy she said she's fine. Leave her alone."

"Shut up House. I guess I'll go. I'll bring Rachel back in a few a days.. Get well soon." He said softly leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

"Bye James.. and thank you for taking her for a few days.."

"Bye momma!" Rachel squeaked as she ran back up to her mother and kissed her on the cheek as well.

"Bye honey.. Be good for uncle Wilson okay?"

She kissed Rachel goodbye before watching House lead them out. When they had gone, House returned into the living room.

"Come on."

"Come on what?"

"Do you want to spend the night on the couch or what?"

"I don't care."

"Cuddy."

"_What?_" She replied irritatedly. Why did it matter where she slept? She didn't care right now. She just wanted to... She didn't even know what she wanted.

"I know you're upset, and you're tired. You need sleep."

House was pissing her off, but she knew he was actually trying to care and be supportive in her time of need. She didn't want to argue. Gingerly, she sat up, her broken wrist making it hard to do so, especially with the sudden wave of dizziness that struck her. She stood and slowly made her way towards the bedroom, House not far behind her.

She reached the bedroom and pulled the covers aside before easing herself into bed and burying herself under them. She was cold. It was early April and she was freezing.

"You need to take your pain meds Cuddles."

"No. I don't. Not all of us need drugs to deal with pain." She said the words before she could stop herself, instantly regretting it.

"I didn't mean that.."

"I know you didn't. Pain causes us to say things we don't mean. I would know."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me.." She whispered, suddenly overcome by a wave of emotion. He was trying to be supportive of her, and here she was bitching at him, verbally attacking him.

"There are a lot of things wrong with you." House remarked.

"House... The last thing I need is -."

"Shut up and let me finish."

She swallowed dryly before biting her tongue, forcing whatever she was feeling deeper inside of herself.

"There are a lot of things wrong with you. There are a lot more things wrong with me. Now obviously you falling in love with me is one of the things wrong with you. So if you look at it my way, if it weren't for the things wrong with you, you'd be a bitter old spinster." House continued climbing in beside her.

"You're an idiot." She murmured, pulling him close to her.

No matter what he said to her, whether it be an insult or a snarky comment, it always made her a feel a little better. The insults was one of the things she loved about their relationship. It kept things playful, it kept the fire between them there. It also showed his affection for her in an uncommon way. House was completely right by telling her that the things wrong with her were what had made her fall in love with him. She felt the tears starting to slip down her cheeks and felt his arms around her, holding her as she let _everything _out.

"I hate this. I hate this _so _much. I just wish for ONCE something would go in out favor. For ONCE something good would happen to us." She cried angrily against his chest.

Every time something good happened, there was always something horrible just waiting to happen. Always. No matter what it was.


	22. Sex on Fire

_I am ashamed at how short this chapter is. My writing mojo has DIED. ._. You'll love me the next chapter, I promise. In the meantime, have this present that I know you'll also love, so please, be generous with the reviews. And the song is "Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon._

* * *

The first few days after the accident were painful. House watched as Cuddy lost her appetite and constantly slept. He spent _a lot_of late nights at the hospital because the stress of everything was making it almost impossible to think straight and solve his latest case on time. He supposed his team could do it without him, but seeing as they were hardly doing their work as of lately, he needed to make sure that now they were actually doing what they were supposed to be.

He came home one night, not too long after the accident to find Cuddy curled up in bed crying. He rubbed his face, sighing, before checking on Rachel and re-entering the room. At this point, he had been staying at Cuddy's every night since the accident. He climbed in beside her in bed and she automatically wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest.

"You've got to stop crying Cuddy. It's not going to do any difference. It's not going to change anything." He said bluntly. Lying to protect her feelings wasn't going to do her any good. Crying wasn't going to do her any good either.

"You think I don't know that?" She blurted out suddenly. "You think I don't know that crying won't unbreak my wrist? Or undo the past two weeks? Because I do know that House. I'm not naïve. This is the only way I can let it all out. Now shut the hell up and just hold me okay?"

House smirked before kissing the top of her head.

"There's the Cuddles I know and love."

He loved when he said something to her while she was upset and it pissed her off. It was one of his favorite things about her. No matter how upset she was over something, she would call him out on his crap. The authoritative side always came out.

"You're an ass." She mumbled, nestling herself closer to him. House ran his fingers through her hair as they stayed that way for several minutes. By the time Cuddy regained her composure, House was almost completely asleep. If it hadn't been for her pulling away from him he wouldn't have even noticed.

"Where are you going?" He asked rubbing his eyes as he watched her stand.

"Shower, bath, whatever. Care to join me?" She asked raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Don't mind if I do."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Cuddy smiled as she dropped her towel and stepped into the steamy shower, House not far behind. Seeing as she'd made sure to buy a waterproof cast protector after the accident, she'd had no worries about getting it wet.

She reached over for the bar of soap, only to realize that House had taken it.

"Give me the soap." She said reaching out for it with her good hand.

"No way. I'm not going to miss out on lathering the twins up." He smirked, already reaching out his soapy hands towards her. Instead of placing them on her chest as she'd expected, he placed them on her shoulders, motioning for her to turn around. She turned, and immediately felt House kneed his hands into her shoulders as he gently massaged them while lathering her back.

She let out a small groan as he applied pressure to one of the many knots that had formed over the course of the last several days.

"Oh god. Where did you learn to give back massages like this?"

"Hookers."

"Of course." She replied rolling her eyes just as she felt his hands slip down to her hips. She let out a small a gasp as he pulled her against him, making sure that she felt his growing erection.

"Oh so that's what you want?" She whispered seductively, turning to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss, making sure to grind her hips against him.

House groaned in approval as she pressed herself closer to him.

"Too bad." She teased slipping her hand between them and running her fingers along his length. "First, we get clean, _then _we can get dirty.."

"I like you when you're frisky.."

Several minutes later, just as she was washing away the remainder of soap off of her arms, Cuddy felt House cup her breasts from behind and slowly begin to massage them. She gasped as he ran his fingers over her nipples, causing them to instantly harden.

House pressed his lips against her jugular, moving one hand between her thighs. She gasped yet again as she felt his finger graze against her dripping sex. She turned around, and wrapped her good hand around his shaft, pressing her lips against his as she stroked him. She let out a soft whimper as House took her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it. She continued to stroke him until he gently pushed her up against the wall, slipping a finger inside of her.

Cuddy moved her hands into his hair as he sucked at the skin where her shoulder and neck met, as she felt him slip another finger inside of her.

"Oh god." She moaned as she gripped his shoulders, her knees going weak as she felt herself getting closer to her climax. She was so close that her heart was beating wildly in her chest, the need to feel House as close as possible becoming overwhelming. "I want you inside me when I come Greg." She whispered panting, as she stopped his hand.

House looked at her for a moment before pinning her up against the wall and entering her. Cuddy inhaled sharply as her walls tightened around him. She dug her nails into his shoulders as she felt his hands move to her ass, lifting her ever so slightly, keeping her pinned against the wall.

House's strength always seemed to increase when they had sex. No matter where it was taking place, one way or another he'd lift her during some point. She wrapped a leg around his waist, letting out a soft whimper with each thrust.

"_Oh god Greg_." She moaned into House's mouth as she came, riding out the waves of her orgasm as she waited for him to finish. She knew that House was never far behind her. Her orgasm was always what caused him to go over the edge. She loved the fact that what got him off was the sound of her moaning out his name in euphoric pleasure.

He came not soon after, and she kissed him gently before shutting off the shower head and stepping out.

"Fuck Lisa." She heard him say as she slipped on her night gown.

"We just did that!" She replied slipping into bed. She felt House's arms around her and smiled, caressing the back of his hand with her thumb. She leaned into him, resting her head against him as she did so.

"Why are you so comfortable?" She said yawning, nestling herself even closer against him.

"I knew you only wanted to use me as a pillow." He joked, caressing her upper arm with his hand.

"I love you." She mumbled softly, before drifting off into a deep slumber.


	23. If I Knew Then

_Soooo... This is my longest chapter yet, 4,249 words to be exact, and that's without the a/n. You guys have been slacking on reviews, which makes me feel like no one wants to continue reading this, which indeed kills my inspiration. I'm not even kidding. I've said it before, reviews are what keeps me going. Anyway, I don't know when I'll be updating again, because I'm leaving for lord knows how long to my aunt's and I don't know if I'll be able to write while I'm there. Anyway, you're going to love me anyway for this chapter. House is kind of OOC, but who cares? TPTB can do it, so can I. ;) The song is "If I Knew Then" by Lady Antebellum, and I suggest you have tissues, because the song is med school to now Huddy. So yeah, enjoy, and make me happy by showing your love! :p_

* * *

House awoke early on a Friday morning in June with an uncommon anxious feeling in his gut. It was the Friday before his birthday, and he and Cuddy were planning to take a weekend trip up to the city. The anxiety had nothing to do with the fact that his birthday also marked one year since they had officially decided to give their relationship another go. _Not at all_.

"_Bullshit."_ He thought to himself, rolling over and looking at Cuddy's still sleeping form beside him. The last time he'd had a relationship where they'd actually gotten to an anniversary was ten years ago with Stacy. But Cuddy wasn't Stacy. What he did for his anniversaries with Stacy could never be enough for Cuddy. That's why he had something planned. Something _special. _

He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him, smirking as she fit herself perfectly against him.  
"Lisa Cuddy, you are in for one hell of a weekend."

* * *

Cuddy was extremely anxious as she packed up her briefcase at five. It had nothing to do with her plans for the weekend. Absolutely _nothing_ at all.

"_Stop lying to yourself."_ She thought to herself, sitting down for a moment and taking a deep breath. She had no reason to be nervous, or anxious, or whatever the hell the rest of the emotions she was feeling at the moment were. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. All she was planning to do was ask House one simple question. Nothing would happen should she not get the response she wanted. Nothing at all. But god, did she hope she got what she wanted. That for once something in her life would go the way she wanted it to. Especially when it came to her future with House. What she was going to ask was something that could very well compromise their relationship in either a positive, or negative way.

* * *

"Rachel! Come say bye to Momma!" House heard Cuddy say as he closed the trunk to her SUV. It was seven pm Saturday night, and they were just about to head out to the city. He leaned against the driver's side of the black Lexus, and watched as mother and daughter said their farewells. Just as he was about to get into the car, he heard Rachel call out his name, causing him to turn in her direction. She ran towards him and hugged his legs. Carefully, he squatted down so he was level with the little girl, and allowed her to hug him.

"Bye Daddy!" The little girl squeaked before pecking him quickly on the cheek and running back towards Arlene who had volunteered to babysit for the weekend. House stood, stunned at what had just taken place. Rachel had just called him _daddy_.

"Did she just..." He heard Cuddy whisper as he looked up to find her standing in front of him, a hand on his arm.

"Huh...Yeah... She did.." He replied letting out a soft laugh as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well then..." Cuddy smiled in response, before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Let's get going before it gets even later." She said softly, caressing his cheek.

So Rachel had called him dad. It had actually taken her longer than he had expected her to. He had actually feared the day when she would refer to him as her father, afraid that he would either not be around long enough afterwards, or that he would do _something_ to fuck everything up. But that was then. This is now. Now he was ready. He was ready to possibly be called 'dad' for the rest of his life.

* * *

The drive up to downtown Manhattan had taken a little over two hours. The last thing Cuddy remembered was driving through Newark before falling asleep. Before she knew it House was tapping her on the shoulder.  
"Huh?" She asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes, letting them adjust to the light shining in front of the hotel they were staying at. The New York Marriot.

"We're here. Now get that toned little ass of yours out of the car before I hand the keys over to the vale and tell him to put you into the trunk."

She shook her head, rolling her eyes and smiling as she did so, before getting out of the car. She watched as House took the duffel bag containing both of their clothes and handed the keys over to the young looking vale. She yawned as he joined her at her side, before leaning into him. She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep before having to deal with what she knew would be a nerve wracking weekend for her.

They checked in at the front desk before heading up to their room on the twelfth floor. Had it not been for the grand piano she caught from the corner of her eye as they entered the room, she wouldn't have even stopped to examine the room before going straight to bed. But she saw the piano and stopped, taking in just how grandiose their room was.

"House.." She whispered, looking around. The room faced the middle of times square, with a gorgeous view of the city below.

"Before you even say anything, we needed this weekend away after everything. You were stressed, and I just want a calm birthday."

She walked over to him and rested her forehead against his chest, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion, knowing that what she had planned for Monday night was the right thing to do.

* * *

House watched from the white couch in the sitting area of the hotel room as Cuddy finished applying her make up in the bathroom. Their plans for the day were simple. Exploring the city, dinner, and quite possibly pre birthday sex. Although he knew the chances of the last part were slim if he wanted some actual birthday sex the next night, and he was fine with that. He'd rather have sex the next night anyway.

"Stop caking all that shit onto your face. You look fine without it." He yelled across the room, smirking as she rolled her eyes.

"I don't _cake _it on my face. You and I both know that I barely wear anything on my face at all. It's just the eyes and the lips. I'm not a teenage girl. I don't need to cover up every little imperfection on my face with pounds of make up that end up doing more damage later on than the good it was doing."

House let out a low laugh at the fact that she thought there were imperfections on her face. To him she was perfect, not that he would ever tell her that, but it was true. So what if the accident had left a light scar above her eyebrow? So what if she had small wrinkles? It's not like he himself was perfect. That he was far from. He would never really understand how someone as beautiful and intelligent as Cuddy would fall for someone as bitter and realistic as himself, but he knew he was lucky. At least in this part of his life he was lucky.

* * *

Cuddy leaned into House's side as they walked along fifth avenue. It was a little past two and they had just had lunch in Central Park, deciding to take a stroll down fifth ave afterwards.

"We should get something for the kid." House said as they stopped in front of FAO Schwartz.

"You want to get something for my kid?" She asked skeptically raising an eyebrow. Secretly, she thought it was sweet that House wanted to buy something for Rachel, but she would never tell him that. He would call her corny or something along those lines. Not that she cared, House had called her far worse things throughout the years, corny would be like a compliment.

They entered the store, and Cuddy watched as House's eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas at the variety of toys the store had to offer.

"It's like dating a ten year old." She laughed as she walked over to a display of stuffed animals. It was a tower of Beanie Babies and she smiled as she picked up a a white and grey Husky with brilliant blue eyes. It's hair was disheveled and she laughed. It looked exactly like House did in the morning. She held it close to herself before heading off to find House, who had no doubt disappeared in the throng of people.

She found him at the giant floor piano that the store had. Of course that would be where she would find him. She watched as he walked across it, hearing the notes the piano emitted with each step. She smiled again, before walking over to join him.

"So... Did you find anything?" She asked as he stepped down onto the high E.

"Yeah, this." He replied, holding out a stuffed dog identical to the one she was holding.

"Maybe we're more alike than we think..." She laughed as he looked from his hand to her chest where she was still holding the stuffed dog.

"At least I know it's a good choice for the kid, seeing as you chose the same thing." He replied simply.

Several hours later, they sat together in a cozy little booth in the farthest back corner of the Marriot's lounge. Cuddy leaned her forehead against House's before pressing her lips against his and letting out a soft laugh as she left him smile against her lips before grabbing her right breast.

"Not here." She laughed, taking his hand in hers and placing it on her lap under the table instead.

* * *

"You're even more annoying when you're drunk than you are sober." House snarked as he wrapped an arm around a _very _tipsy Cuddy as the elevator doors dinged open at their floor.

"Oh shut up." She giggled, slapping him lightly against the chest as slipped the key card into the door.

"Remind me not to let you have as much wine tomorrow night. I need you sober..." He replied, pushing the door open and resting a hand against the small of her back to steady her as she stumbled into the room. There was no way in hell he could go through with that he had planned for the next night if she got as messed up as she was at the moment. He didn't even know how she'd managed to get so drunk. She'd had two glasses of wine. Two. He knew Cuddy wasn't much of a drinker, but to have two glasses of wine and get like that? That was too much.

He let out a chuckle as she fell down onto the bed, and called him towards her, moving her finger in a "come hither" motion.

"You know...You could have your way with me if you wanted to right now..." She whispered seductively.

"Cuddy, you're drunk. I'm not taking advantage of you. Even if technically it wouldn't be taking advantage of." So drunk Cuddy was annoying _and_ horny. Nice.

"Ugh. Fine." She huffed, defeated.

House let out another chuckle before pulling her feet into his lap, pulling off her heels and throwing them aside.

"I don't deserve you." Cuddy said softly, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "You're too good to me. Taking my heels off for me because I'm too drunk to do it on my own."

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it so I don't end up getting stabbed in the eye or _worse_ in the middle of the night, especially not by one of your S and M stilettos."

He took off his own shoes before changing into his pajamas and passing Cuddy her night gown. He laid down beside her, and immediately felt her wrap her arms around him and rest her head against his chest, right above his heart. He draped an arm over her shoulders and gently caressed the soft skin of her arm until she fell asleep, he himself falling asleep not so long after.

* * *

Cuddy awoke the next morning with a migraine.

"Never again." She mumbled to herself as she climbed out of bed and walked towards the small kitchen of the hotel room. She took two ibuprofen with a glass of orange juice before climbing back into bed. It was still early. Just after seven. House was still asleep. A few more hours would do neither of them wrong.

When she awoke the second time, it was half past ten and she was feeling a lot better than she had been just hours ago. She yawned and rolled over onto her side, looking up to find House's brilliant blue eyes staring at her.

"Happy Birthday." She whispered softly before caressing the scruff of his face with her right hand. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. They broke apart, both breathing heavily.

"Come on, let's go shower." She whispered taking his hand and leading him into the bathroom.

They emerged from the bathroom half an hour later, both squeaky clean and smiling. They got dressed, Cuddy opting to put on a tight pair of blank jeans with an off shoulder black and white stripped shirt. She had silver hoops in her ears, and her hair was semi straightened. She felt sexy and confident, which was exactly how she needed to feel tonight. She was nervous. Extremely nervous, which was never something she enjoyed feeling. She crossed her legs as they sat in the back of a cab on the way to the Museum of Natural History, trying to stop them from shaking.

"What is wrong with you Cuddles?" House asked, placing a hand on her knee.

"Nothing." She lied quickly, relieved when he didnt ask her again that she was convincing enough.

* * *

House watched from afar as Cuddy walked up the display case concealing two wolves. The lighting in this part of the museum was dark, the only things illuminated where the front of the displays. The light illuminated her profile, and it made her look amazing. House smiled to himself, realizing just how lucky he was to have her.

Their reservation at the Hard Rock Cafe was at eight. They entered the restaurant, and even though it was a Monday, it still took them a while to get seated. The Hard Rock was _always_ packed. No matter what day of the week it was. It was always loud and bustling and had an over all energetic feeling to it.

When they did get seated though, they were seated in front of a display case containing Mick Jagger's guitar, much to both his and Cuddy approval. At least there was one thing he approved of at the moment. Anything else, not so much. The anxious feeling he had experienced Friday morning was back, this time causing his hands to get clammy as well. Not that there need be any reason, seeing as the special thing he had planned wouldn't take place until they were in the privacy of their hotel room.

They placed their orders with the waitress, and once she walked away, House felt Cuddy reach across the table and take his hand in hers.

"This is nice." She said softly.

"Yeah, it is." He replied running his thumb over the smooth skin of the back of her hand.

Cuddy took a sip of her coke, opting not to drink anymore alcohol after the previous night, before popping a french fry into her mouth. She then proceeded into feeding one to House, who willingly obliged.

"Why don't you act like this more often?" She laughed, as he in turn fed her a fry off of the plate they were sharing.

"I'll act like this more often when we're in the city more often." He replied simply, before opening a packet of sugar and emptying the contents into his mouth.

"Stop doing that!" She reprimanded, smacking him lightly on the arm.

"God Cuddles, you can't even stop abusing me on my own birthday. You're a horrible, horrible woman."

"I'm sorry." She said before leaning across the table and kissing him. "Does that make up for it?" She teased pulling away.

"No." House replied in mock bitterness. "But I can think of a few other ways you can make up for it back in our room."

"Oh? We'll see about that.."

At that moment the waitress arrived with their entrees. They both ate their meals, picking food off of each other's plates and laughing at the small talk they were having. It was rare for them to have dinner out, and it was nice to do something like this once in a while. They were enjoying it, but Cuddy couldn't shake her nerves.

They paid their bill before making their way back up to the hotel room. At this point, she was almost shaking with nerves. She had wanted to ask him in the privacy of their room in case things didnt go as planned.

"House..." She said taking a deep breath as she watched him sit down at the piano.

"Come here." He replied, patting the space next to him on the bench. She followed and sat beside him, opening her mouth to speak again, only to be silenced by him. She watched as his hands moved over the keys, and he started playing a light slow melody she had never heard before. She leaned her head against his shoulder as the tempo of the piece increased, turning into something along the lines of a classic Jewish piece.

"It's beautiful.." She said softly as the final notes of the melody echoed in the room.

"I wrote it for you."

She looked up at him, stunned at his gesture. It touched her more than anything that he had written a melody for her.

"A few years ago. The night of Rachel's sim chat bat. I wanted to be there, and I know you wanted me there, but I still couldn't bring myself to go."

"House.."

"Let me finish Cuddy."

She closed her mouth again, and let him continue speaking.

"We've known each other for how long now? Twenty-six? Twenty-seven years? The point is that when we had met all those years ago, if I had known I was going to fall in love, I wouldn't have let myself. But I didn't, and I did, and I don't regret it. You and I both know that I don't get emotional over things. I don't show the softer side of myself in public. That is the reason I waited until we were alone to do this."

Cuddy could feel her heart racing as she watched House take a little black box out of his pocket, and open it. Her right hand flew to her mouth as she could feel tears building up. She stifled a sob as she felt House slip the ring onto her finger.

* * *

"I love you Cuddy. I don't know how long I have, I don't care either, I just know that I love you. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you. If it weren't for you, I don't even think I would be alive." House took a deep breath. He looked down at Cuddy, who was staring at the ring he had slipped onto her finger, tears streaming down her face.

"What I'm going at is... I don't want to lose you. I don't know how many days, or years I have left on this hell we call Earth, but what I do know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So what I'm asking is -."

"Yes." Cuddy replied cutting him off before he could finish his sentence. He exhaled a relieved sigh, before she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

He smiled against her lips as their tongues dueled for dominance, savoring the taste of her mouth mixed with the salt of her tears. He slipped his hands down to her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she pressed herself against him, causing the blood flow towards his lower member to increase.

He groaned as Cuddy grabbed him through his jeans before she quickly began to unbutton his jeans. He felt her hand make contact with his throbbing cock and in return he slid his hand up her shirt and under her bra, giving her right breast a firm squeeze. His lips found her neck, and he nibbled at the curve of her neck as she stroked him at a painfully slow pace.

"Take your pants off." Cuddy lustfully into his ear, turning him on even more.

"Not until you take off yours." He replied moving his hands towards the zipper of her tight jeans and pulling it down.

He slid her jeans off and threw them to the side before pulling off his own. He pulled Cuddy in for another kiss before he felt her hands resume their place in his boxers. She slipped them down to his knees and he felt the heat of her mouth around his tip as she took him into her mouth. He moaned out in approval as his hands moved into her hair and she looked up at him with a lustful sparkle in her eye as she hummed. The vibration of her throat as she hummed was driving him insane. He placed a hand on her upper arm before pulling her up to face him.

* * *

Cuddy gasped as she felt House push her up against the piano keys, causing her ass to land on top of them, the piano emitting an unpleasant sound keys that were not meant to be pressed simultaneously clashed. His hands found their way between her legs, and he spread her thighs before slipping her thong off using his teeth. She let out a small moan as he slipped two fingers inside of her. She wrapped a leg around his waist as his other hand attempted to pull off her shirt. She helped him as best as she could, any movement she made only causing his fingers to press even harder against her inner walls. House's lips made contact with one of her nipples just as his thumb pressed hard against her swollen clit.

_"Oh god. Oh god." _She moaned as her hands entangled themselves in his hair. House's hand moved to the small of her back, and his mouth made contact with another part of her. She could feel the heat of his mouth against her as he pulled her closer, propping one of her legs over his shoulder.

"Greg. _Please._" She panted as she felt herself nearing the edge. He released her, and she hopped off of the piano. She pushed his shirt off as he stood up off of the piano bench before pulling him in for another kiss, pressing herself against him as they worked their way into the bedroom.

They landed on the bed, and Cuddy pushed herself up to the headboard before gasping and closing her eyes as House entered her fully in one quick fluid motion. Her hands held onto the headboard as he thrust into her, causing her to moan softly with each thrust as he continuously hit the right spot. House looked down at her and smirked before leaning down to press his lips against her jaw, sending a shiver down her spine. She shuddered beneath him as her legs shook, smashing her lips against his as she was hit by her core shaking orgasm.

"_Oh god Greg."_ She moaned into his mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

* * *

House turned onto his back as Cuddy wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms were on her hips as she ground her hips against his, crying out his name in euphoric ecstasy as she continued to finish her orgasm. He moved a hand to her ass as her rhythm increased and their mouths met in a fiery duel for dominance. She pulled away for a second, and he watched as she flipped her hair back, her grey eyes filled with lust, before their mouths met once more. He left her hand slide between them and massage his testicles, sending a shock through his system as she then nipped at his ear lobe.

Cuddy's pace picked up once again and he moaned as he could feel himself coming close. She was riding him _hard_. The sight of her ample breasts in his face and the sounds she was making as she rode him drove him insane.

"_Lisa." _He moaned softly into her ear, panting as he came inside of her. Cuddy let out a soft laugh before resting her forehead against his. He wrapped his arms around her as he rolled onto his side, sliding out of her.

"I bet you'll never forget this birthday."

"You can sure as hell count on that."

* * *

_I bet you're all wondering what Cuddy was going to ask him, no? She was going to ask him to move in with her. But it doesn't matter anymore seeing as House popped the question. She **might** be asking him something else later on though, so keep an eye out. So yeah, leave a review! _


	24. Hold My Heart

_Hello lovelies, I'm back. Took me two weeks, but hey, it's an update. I'll try to update again asap, especially because of where I left this off, but I'm busy here at my aunt's, plus a family member recently passed so uhm yeah. ._. ANWAY, The song is "Hold My Heart" by Sara Bareilles. Leave a review and make me happy? :)_

* * *

Wilson entered Cuddy's office Wednesday morning with a handful of patient files that needed signing off on.

"I need you to -" He stopped dead when he noticed her hastily try to cover her left hand by putting it under her desk.

"What are you hiding from me?" He asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at his close friend as she looked at him skeptically.

"What? I'm not hiding anything."

Wilson chuckled at her lie before walking over to her desk. He walked up behind her and pulled her hand up to examine it.

"Is that.." He looked at the ring on her left ring finger. It was silver, princess cut, and encrusted with small diamonds, with one more than decent sized one in the center.

"House..He... Proposed?" Wilson stuttered, trying to process what he had just discovered. _House_ _had proposed._ 'What the fuck', was the only thing he could think. He didn't even know House was capable of proposing to someone. That House was even willing to get married.

"Yes." Cuddy replied blushing slightly. "Monday night when we were in the city."

"Wow.." He responded, dropping her hand. He stood stunned for a second before Cuddy stood to face him.

"Congratulations." He smiled, embracing her.

"Thank you Wilson." She said giving him a gentle squeeze.

* * *

"You have some explaining to do." House heard Wilson say as he looked up from his desk. He smirked at Wilson's stance.

"Don't stand like that. You look like a woman Ricky Ricardo. And what exactly do I need to explain?" He said removing his glasses and setting aside the book he was reading.

"You proposed and you didn't tell me!"

"I don't have to tell you everything. Especially not when it comes to Cuddy. Plus, I knew you'd find out from her anyway."

"You still should have told me that you were planning on it... So how did it happen?"

"Well, we went to dinner and I serenaded her. I even cried!" House quipped mockingly, smirking as Wilson rolled his eyes at him.

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

House sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was go into detail of how he proposed. He hated being open with people, especially when it came to his personal life.

"Wilson, how do you propose to a woman? You've done it FOUR times, you better than anyone knows how it happens."

"You're an ass." Wilson huffed, rolling his eyes before turning and walking out.

* * *

"Are you going to tell your mother?" Cuddy asked, resting her hand against House's chest before resting her head over his heart.

"No." House replied, before gently sliding out from underneath her and limping into the kitchen. Cuddy noted that it was more pronounced than she'd seen it in a while and sat up, frowning as she ran a hand through her hair.

"You okay?" She asked as she followed after him, reaching up caressing his cheek with her left hand. He stiffened at her touch, causing her hand to tense a bit.

"I'm fine." He replied impassively as he walked away from her once more.

Obviously something was wrong, and Cuddy would never stop until she found out what.

"Liar."

"Everybody lies."

"Come on sweet sauce, tell party pants what's wrong." She pressed, hoping to lighten his mood by the use of the ridiculous nicknames they had come up for each other almost a decade ago.

"I said I'm fine damn it!" He growled in response.

"Obviously if you're snapping at me for no apparent reason, you're not fine. Stop being an asshole and tell me what's wrong." Cuddy snapped in return already bubbling with anger at his sudden burst of aggression.

"For fuck's sake Cuddy, there's nothing wrong!"

"How exactly do you expect us to work if you can't open up to me? It's been over two years since I told you I loved you. You see this ring on my finger? We're getting married House. MARRIED. How exactly is our marriage going to fucking work when you won't tell me what's bothering you when I ask? Opening up is a part of every relationship, and I know it's hard for you. I really do, but the only way to make that easier for yourself - for us, is by at least trying to." She snapped angrily. She could feel the anger rising in her chest at how idiotic House was being. It pissed her off to no end how sheltered and closed off he acted when it came to his emotions. It pissed her off that he didn't trust her enough to open up to her.

"Tell me what's wrong." She said softly, resting a hand against his chest.

"There's NOTHING wrong." He snapped before walking out.

* * *

Several hours later, House sat alone in his apartment, a glass of scotch sitting directly to the left of his right hand. It had been a while since he'd spent more than a few minutes there. Actually, it had been months. The only reason he came home was to check his mail and occasionally shower, or change up his cane. He hadn't slept there in ages, and he knew that he'd have to spend the night.

It was his fault he was in this position anyway. That he would admit. What he wouldn't admit is that it was because he wouldn't open up to her. He would open up to her, if he could actually get her to listen first. There really was nothing wrong. Okay, no. That would be a lie. There was something wrong, but it wasn't something he needed to weigh her down with. Things were finally getting back to normal with her.

The accident had been over two months ago. She was finally back to herself. He didn't come home to find her crying anymore. She smiled more often, laughed a little more. Why ruin that by telling her what was on his mind? How his leg was acting up a lot worse than usual. How he was practically fighting temptation to down an entire bottle of ibuprofen. Ibuprofen because he knew it wouldn't affect him the way vicodin did, there would be no high, he would black out. Of course his stomach would need to be pumped afterwards, but it was worth it if it meant a few hours of being pain free. Hell, if he was lucky it could mean a few days.

He stood and limped into the kitchen, taking the bottle out of the cabinet and grabbing a glass of water. Sitting on the couch, he emptied several of the little white pills into his hand.

* * *

When Wilson received a text from House telling him to come over for some beers, he found it out of place. House was never one to invite him out, on the contrary, he was the one to invite House out for drinks. What he found at House's apartment was the least thing he was expecting.

The door was slightly ajar when he arrived, which struck him as odd. When he entered, the sight in front of him caused him to gasp.

House was sprawled out on his living room floor, a bottle of ibuprofen spilling out of one hand. Wilson ran over to him and checked his pulse. It was weak, but it was still there. Next he checked his pupils. They were non responsive. Panicking, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

* * *

"Hello?" Cuddy said as she answered her phone. It was half past one and she hadn't been able to sleep, her mind restless about the argument she'd had with House just hours before.

"We need you down at the hospital." Wilson said calmly.

"I'll be there in as soon as possible, I need to find -"

"No. Forget about finding a sitter, bring her with you, I'll take her. You need to be here NOW." Wilson replied with urgency, cutting her off.

"Wilson, what the hell is going on."

"Look, I'll explain when you get here."

Cuddy stared open mouthed at her phone after Wilson had hung up on her. Whatever the hell was going on better be important if she was needed there as soon as possible.

She changed into a pair of jeans, and a tee shirt, not caring if it was unprofessional. If there really was an emergency, the last thing people would be paying attention to was how the Dean of Medicine showed up in the middle of the night. Besides, her scrubs were in her office should she need them.

"Rachel, honey wake up. We need to go to the hospital." She whispered, leaning down and kissing her daughter's forehead as she pushed the little girl's hair away from her face.

"Noo. I wanna stay here with Daddy.." The little girl protested as Cuddy picked her up and slipped on her shoes, grabbing a sweater for her as they exited the room. It may have been late June, but she knew for a fact that the hospital's air conditioner would be on full blast.

"Daddy's not here.." She replied buckling Rachel into her booster seat.

She pulled into her spot beside House's and let out a sad sigh. He could be such an idiot at times. Why did he have to complicate the simplest situation? She pushed the thoughts of their argument to the back of her mind, the hospital needed her.

When she walked into the PPTH's Emergency room, she was expecting mass chaos, not Wilson.

"Wilson, what the hell is going on?" She demanded as she reached him.

"Cuddy I think you should sit down..." He replied taking Rachel from her.

"What. The hell. Is going on?" She hissed in response.

"House over dosed on ipubrofen."

"W-What?" She replied, feeling her knees go weak as Wilson reached out and placed a hand on her elbow. She sat down, not because she wanted to, but because she didn't know how much longer her knees would be able to hold her body weight.

"He's knocked out for now. He was Tachycardic and went through cardiac arrest."

"Where is he?"

"ICU, five – seventeen."

She alll but ran towards the elevator and frantically pressed the button to the fifth floor.

The elevator dinged to a stop at the fifth floor, and she exited, already feeling her stomach turn at what she would find.

She entered his room, thankful that the shades were drawn. The second she reached the side of his bed, she collapsed onto her knees, her arms and head resting against the bed as she sobbed into it.

"Jesus House. Why do you have to do this to me? I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Please, stay with me. Don't leave me. Please... I need you. Rachel needs you. You're _always_ going to be the most incredible man I have ever known. Always. I can't lose you." She sobbed, reaching for his left hand. She took it within her own before bringing it up to her lips.

"Just wake up okay? Take as long as you need to, but don't leave me." She whispered as she took a shuddering breath and wiped at her eyes.

* * *

Wilson rubbed his eyes with one hand as he ran the other through his hair, watching Cuddy collapse the second she entered House's room across the hall.

Why did House do this? Was he trying to kill himself or was it just an accidental overdose? Or was he in so much pain that he needed the amount of pain killers?

He couldn't help but feel bad for Cuddy. Every time House was hospitalized she stayed by his side until she was sure he would be fine. It was different the previous times, they hadn't gotten together at that point. But now, now they were engaged. Wilson could only imagine how much worse it would be now that they were getting married. He knew what it was like to lose the person you loved. He'd lost Amber after all, and that was something he would never wish upon anyone. Especially not House and Cuddy. Those were two people who deserved anything but the things that had happened to them. Constantly there were things thrown at them. Why did life have to be so unfair?

He sighed, rubbing his face as he watched Cuddy hastily wipe at her eyes as she slid through the door and into the hall.

"He'll be fine." He said reassuringly as she reached him, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"I hope so."


	25. Little Lion Man

_Helllllooooooo my dears, I'm back with a new chapter. :3 It's a bit short but ah well. :P There are a lot of things coming in this fic, so be prepared. Some will be good, some will be bad, and one will of course be their wedding, so stick around and review and you will be rewarded. Also while I'm at it, go read _**"Charlotte's Web" by Winnywriter**. _Just do it, you won't regret it, and make sure to leave her reviews! Okay, I'm done. The song is Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! ;D_

* * *

When Cuddy reentered House's room, it was past four am. She had had a very long discussion with Wilson about what was going on and what had happened between her and House before she had gotten the call. She knew it wasn't her fault, but a part of her couldn't help but feel guilty. If it had to do with his leg, she would always feel guilty. Were it not for her giving Stacy the option of the middle ground procedure that had caused House the proper function of his leg all those years ago, he might not even be in this situation. All the previous situations would have been avoided. Hell, she might not have even had to hire him. For all she knew he would have been working in a different country. It was her fault that he was in excruciating pain, every day of his life.

By causing him pain, she had also caused herself pain. She could recall all the times she watched him limp heavier than usual, the times she had heard him grunt in pain and watched his hand fly down to his leg and immediately begin to rub it, trying to soothe the no longer existing muscle. Every time she had witnessed him do one of those things, her heart broke. There were times where she had been so overwhelmed with guilt that she would cry. She remembered one day, several years back when he had decided to take Methadone instead of Vicodin, and she had been hell bent against him taking the riskier drug in fear of what it might do to him until she realized that he was pain free and happier. She'd approached him, and told him that if she could administer his dosages, he could continue to take the powerful drug that made his pain almost nonexistent, and he had said no, because the Methadone had made him a worse doctor, and that he would rather be in pain than be a crappy doctor. He'd left her alone in his office, and afterwards, she'd gone back to her own and silently wiped away at the tears that had begun to fall the second she had closed the door behind her.

That was the thing about House, he would rather be a good doctor than be pain-free. Until they got together. She remembered a few days before her medical scare and breaking things off with him that he'd told her he'd rather be a crappy doctor than be unhappy without her. That meant so much to her, even now, almost a year and a half after he had said it. The fact that he would rather be happy with her than good at his job, when he had once only cared about being a extraordinary doctor, about solving the puzzles and piecing everything together, showed just how important she was to him.

She wiped away at a few stray tears that she hadn't even noticed were falling because she was so deep in thought. Slipping out from underneath one of the blankets she had gotten for herself from one of the supply closet, she cautiously sat down on the edge of House's hospital bed. She reached over and gently traced a line along his jaw with the tips of her fingers, sighing sadly.

"Come on House. Wake up.. Please.." She pleaded softly, pouting as she continued to caress his face with her fingers. She sighed again, defeated, before returning to the couch beside the bed she had previously occupied. She laid down onto it, wrapping her arms protectively around Rachel who had been lying beside her before drifting off into a restless sleep.

* * *

House awoke in a daze and with an ache in his chest. He looked around the room he was in, realizing that both Cuddy and Rachel were currently asleep on the couch besides the bed he was laying in. He winced as he tried to sit up, a throbbing pain shooting through his frontal lobe. He reached over and pressed the nurse's button, not at all surprised when Wilson was the one to enter several minutes later.  
"What the HELL were you thinking!" Wilson asked angrily placing his hands on his hips, causing House to roll his eyes.

"First of all Jimmy, lower your voice before you wake either of them up." He replied dryly, motioning over to the couch with one hand.

"Oh so now you give a damn about them and their well being? Were you thinking of them when you over dosed?"

"Shut the fuck up." House hissed. "Don't you dare say that I don't give a damn about either of them. You of all people know that they're the only thing I have left. Now either get the hell out or shut the hell up before you say I don't care about their well being again."

The fact that Wilson had said that infuriated him. Wilson of all people knew that the ONLY people House truly cared about where Cuddy and Rachel. They were his family. They were the ones who but up with him when he was at his worst and the ones who made him smile when he was at his best. It didn't matter if Rachel was just four and a half years old, or that Cuddy sometimes aggravated him to no end over nonsense. They were the only people who accepted him regardless of his flaws.

The two men glared at each other for several seconds. Just as Wilson was about to speak, they turned their heads towards the couch as the sound of a small yawn was heard.

"Daddy!" Rachel squeaked, elated to see the man she considered her father. She ran up to the bed and climbed up beside him, as House gave Wilson a look, telling him to drop the argument. House watched as Wilson exited the room just as Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I missed you! I hadn't seen you in.. This many hours!" He let out a low laugh as the toddler held up all ten fingers. "I missed you daddy!" She said happily as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I missed you too kid." He replied softly before reaching for the remote and turning on the tv. "Now how about we watch them pirate cartoons matey?" He said in a pirate accent, smiling as the little girl nodded enthusiastically before making herself comfortable beside him.

* * *

Several hours later Wilson reentered House's room determined to apologize for his comment. It had been out of line for him to say that House didn't care about Cuddy nor Rachel's well being.

He entered the room, the only sounds being the hum of the tv as he noticed that Cuddy was still sleeping.

"House, -" he started to say before his best friend cut him off.

"It's fine Jimmy. I know you didn't mean it."

He let out a relieved sigh. He didn't have a problem with apologies, but the fact that Rachel was in the room bothered him for some reason.

"House?"

Both he and House turned their heads in the direction of the couch where Cuddy was seated, wide eyed at the scene before her.

"Come on Rachel, let's go get some breakfast.." Wilson said quickly making his way over to the toddler and picking her up from House's side, knowing that his two friends would want some time alone. Drawing the blinds before closing the door behind him, he made his way down to Cafeteria, with Rachel humming along happily.

* * *

"You're awake... You're... okay..." Cuddy stuttered as she stood from the couch, her knees weak, not caring that her neck was sore, or that she looked like crap and making her way towards House's hospital bed.

Her eyes took him in, alive and well, not believing that she had woken up to him being wide awake for who knows how long.

"You asshole!" She hissed, slapping him across the chest. "I thought I'd lost you for good this time! I thought you were never going to wake up. I thought I would never get to wake up to your eyes on me again." She cried angrily, feeling hot tears stream down her face.

"Calm down." House replied simply.

"No I will not calm down!" She scoffed, annoyed by his sentence as she wiped away her tears. "You over dosed on your medication because you were in so much pain! You didn't tell me and I could've done something! I didn't even notice you were in more pain until last night. I could have given you a stronger prescription, a higher dosage! Something needs to change House. You can't keep doing this to me. You can't keep doing this to us..." She said softly, feeling a whole new batch of tears overwhelm her as she felt House's hand on hers.

"Sit down."

She sat down beside him and was surprised when she felt his arms around her as he pulled her down beside him, holding her close to him.

"I'm sorry. I should have said something. I fucked up and didn't think about the consequences and how it might effect those around me." He said softly as she sobbed into his chest, as she felt his lips against her temple.

"And stop blaming yourself. This is my fault, not yours. _I_ over dosed. _I_ made the wrong decision, not you. You and the argument have nothing to do with what happened. I was in too much pain and just wanted a few days out of it."

Cuddy let out a small sigh, relieved at the fact that their argument had nothing to do with this whole ordeal, knowing that her mind would be at least be at ease when it came to that.

"You have to start opening up to me more... You have to try... Do it for us." She whispered, shuddering as she took a deep breath.

"I will. But don't expect big leaps or anything. Just baby steps... Hedgehog baby steps..."

Cuddy let out a soft laugh as she rolled her eyes at his futile attempt to stop her tears before wrapping her arms around him, taking in his scent.

"Don't you EVER scare me like this again." She mumbled into his chest.

"Can't make any promises..." He replied as she felt his hand begin to caress the soft skin of her upper arm.

She lifted her head up and glared at him, before he shook his head and smirked at her.

"Okay fine. I won't ever scare you like that again."

"Thank you." She replied, smiling before resting her head right back over his heart.

* * *

"I'm capable of driving us home you know Cuddles." House remarked in an annoyed tone the next day as Cuddy ignited the engine of her black Lexus.

"Oh shut up. Every time you use my car you forget to pull the seat back up, I have to do it myself, and waste ten minutes of my time. You need to get a new car."

"My car is fine." He lied. His car was a piece of shit that even he had been surprised had lasted him so long. The only reason he hadn't gotten a new one yet was because he hated change in his life, even when it came to material possessions. Especially when it came to his car. That thing had been with him since before the infarction.

"Your car is a piece of crap that you're too attached to to get rid of." Cuddy replied. The fact that she knew that the reason he didn't want to get rid of his car was because he was too attached to it just proved that she was obviously the one for him. No one else would ever understand him as well as she did. "We're going car shopping this weekend, whether you like it or not."

"Whatever you say Cuddles, whatever you say."


	26. Sweet Disposition

_Oh I know it's been oh so very long hasn't it? (two weeks is a long time no?) But I was busy and finishing up my summer vacation. You can also blame paramorefreak24 , bamf-gonagall, and swaanson for being such entertaining distractions. Anyway, a few things need to be said. 1. I start school tomorrow, so updates may come even slower. 2. How the HELL did we get to 26 chapters and over 50,000 words? At this point, there are another ten to fourteen chapters left to this fic. Maybe even less, so you are being warned, the end is near. 3. You all need to go read "Sandpaper Against Satin" by paramorefreak24. It is a beautiful huddy one-shot, and I am not just saying that because she is my friend, but because it's true. It also happens to be her first Huddy fic, so be generous with the reviews if you read it! Anyway. This chapter is basically a filler so yeah... That's all for now folks, and don't forget to leave a review, maybe you'll see the next chapter sooner! ;D_

* * *

A week later on a hot Saturday afternoon in late July, Cuddy smirked as she watched House's eyes light up at rows of cars they were now faced with.

"And you didn't want to get a new car right?" She laughed softly as they entered the dealership.

"Well Cuddles, that was before my car's gas tank started leaking."

"Do you need some help?" One of the dealers, a man in his early twenties, asked shyly.

"What does it look like? We came in here to just come in here? Of course we need help." House barked.

"Ignore him. We're looking for something new. Well he's looking for something new. Preferably flashy, something that'll make him feel younger." Cuddy said softly, trying to undo the damage House had already done. She could tell that the man was new there and just barely out of college.

"Any specific brand?"

"Any brand, any price." She said simply, rolling her eyes at House as he looked at her.

"You go off with him since it's your car. I'll go look around the other side of the lot. And be nice.. Or else.."

"Or else what?" House replied cocking an eyebrow.

"You know what." She retorted before turning and making her way towards the other side of the lot.

Scanning the cars, she had no intention what so ever of actually looking for one. She made her way towards the back of the lot, smiling when she spotted exactly what she was looking for.

* * *

House rolled his eyes impatiently as amateur car salesman babbled on incessantly about the model of the Toyota Camry LE they were looking at. It was nothing flashy, just nice, and definitely not what he was looking for.

"Got any Mustangs?" House asked suddenly, having had enough of being bored to death by the younger man.

"We do. Any model in mind?"

"Nope. Show me whatever model as long as it's this year's." House replied, excited at the thought of driving off of the lot with a brand new Mustang.

He'd always loved the type of car. Since he was a teen he'd always loved the sound of the car's roaring engine coming to life. He followed the younger man to the selection of Mustangs, nodding in approval.

"We've got the V6, V6 Premium, GT, GT Premium, and the ShelbyGT500. All convertibles."

House examined the line of cars, one of each model the salesman had just recited lined up in order. They were all nice cars. Each one had a leather interior, but he knew that Cuddy would have a conniption if he didnt get a model with a different interior, which was fine with him, leather was no big deal. His attention was drawn specifically to the V6 and the ShelbyGT500. The V6 was silver, with a 3.7L 4V Ti-VCT V6 engine, 6-speed manual transmission. The Shelby was black with satin silver racing stripes. It had a 5.4L supercharged 4V V* engine and a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission.

"How much for the V6?" He asked twirling his cane with his left hand.

"Twenty-eight thousand with tax."

"And the Shelby?"

"Fifty-four thousand."

He weighed the options before deciding against either car. He moved over to the GT and the GT Premium. The GT was red and had a 5.0L 4V Ti-VCT V8 engine, 18" wide spoke painted aluminum wheel and electric power assist steering. The GT Premium was silver and had all the basic features of the GT and a Shaker 500 audio system and voice- activated sync.

"How much for the GT?"

"Thirty-five thousand. The premium is thirty-nine thousand."

"I'll take the Premium."

"Manual or Automatic?"

"Manual."

An hour later, House sat inside of his brand new car, inhaling that new car scent and wondering where the hell Cuddy was. She'd gone off to the opposite side of the lot over two hours ago and he hadn't heard from or seen her since. He pulled out his cellphone and sent her a quick text message.

"_Bought a car. Get that well toned ass of yours back to the front of the dealership so we can go and grab a bite to eat or something."_

Several minutes later he saw her emerge from one the rows of cars, eyes widening at the sight of him in the car.

"You're incredibly turned on right now aren't you?" He teased, smirking.

"I don't know, am I?" She purred, resting her hands on the top of the door as she leaned forward and gave him a small but fiery peck, making sure to give him an amazing view of her full breasts.  
"What do you say we go home and ..." He replied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Slow down there stud. Let's get something to eat first. _Then_ we'll see what happens."

She winked before walking away towards her car, adding an extra swing to her hips.

* * *

Several hours later Cuddy rested her head against House's chest as they listened to the sound of the mid summer rain. It was past four pm and they'd been sitting outside on the patio when it started to pour. Cuddy had set Rachel down for a nap and then she and House had retreated to the living room.

The sound of the rain and the light summer breeze gave Cuddy a sense of calm. She felt House's arm wrap around her waist before he placed his chin on top of her head. She loved the moments when they simply laid together in silence, enjoying the others company. Moments like this were rare. Most of the alone time they spent together they spent in bed. But when they did get alone time like this, she couldn't help but cherish them. Their moments were uncommon, just like their relationship.

She shifted a bit, allowing her right hand to intertwine it's fingers with the fingers of his left hand. He pulled on her finger, causing them to crack. She let out a small squeak of displeasure before looking up at him and glaring. House looked down at her and smirked, proceeding to to stick his tongue out at her and kissing the top of her head. Cuddy let out a soft laugh. 'These were the moments she lived for.

* * *

"What time does her flight get in?" House heard Cuddy ask as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on his sneakers.

"Three. Are you coming with me or …?"

"Of course I'm coming with you. I haven't seen your mother in years."

"Just remember to tuck that ring of yours into your bag so the cat's not out of the bag before dinner."

House had yet to inform his mother of their engagement. When she'd told him she was coming by for a visit, he immediately agreed, knowing that within the time frame she would be visiting was around the same time his father had died four years earlier. He preferred she be with him than alone during that time.

"My mom's stopping by for dinner as well."

"Dear god no."

"You know how she gets, she wont take no for an answer."

"More like I know how you are and you don't know the meaning of the word no. I'm guessing she doesn't know yet either?"

Cuddy's hesitant silence gave him his answer. It didn't surprise him that she hadn't told her mother about their engagement yet either. If Arlene had been his mother he would have never told her. They'd kept their engagement to themselves and Wilson, but it was apparent throughout the hospital of what was going on due to the fact that Cuddy was wearing her ring. She'd yet to take it off, and he loved that. He'd specially chosen that ring for her and the fact that she loved it so much that she wouldn't take it off made him happy that he'd actually done _something_ right with his life.

"That's a negative then captain." House said pulling Cuddy towards him as she tried to walk past him.

"House, let go. We're going to be late." She responded gently pushing him away.

"I repeat, that's a negative captain." He slipped his hands down to her hips, gripping them as he pulled her forward so that she was standing between his legs. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his left thigh.

"What are you doing?" She asked softly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I'm fine House..."

"You're a bad liar. Look, I know this is about telling your mom about us taking..." House reached up and grabbed one of her breasts. "The next logical step." He finished as he looked up and heard the sound of Cuddy's soft laughter, knowing he had caused the memory of him doing the exact thing he had just done to her now several years ago re-emerge. Cuddy took his hand within her own and caressed it with her thumb.

"But you know something Cuddles? Whatever fucked up response your mom comes up with, I guarantee that the response she'll get from me will be ten times worse. By the time I'm done with her, she' wont have anything to say for a while. The only one who gets to insult you in this house is me."

He smirked as she rolled her eyes at him before he felt her take his face in her hands and lean her forehead against his.

"Thank you." She responded, softly pressing her lips against his.

"You're welcome." House responded, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Now, come on, we're already late."

* * *

"Twelve year old female, suffering from a rectal bleed, yellowing of the eyes and skin, along with paralysis in the lower extremities."

"Could be kidney failure."

"Wouldn't explain the paralysis."

"Brain tumor?"

"Wouldn't explain the jaundice."

"Cancer could cause the kidneys to fail, causing the jaundice. The paralysis could be caused by toxins in the blood due to the kidney failure. The rectal bleed could be caused by a hemorrhage."

House looked up from his desk at Masters, surprised that his intern was the one to come up with such a ridiculous yet plausible diagnosis.

"Run the labs. Masters, don't go anywhere."

House watched as the rest of his team emptied out of the differential room, internally smirking at the obvious look of worry on Masters's face. No matter how many times he'd asked her to stay back to discuss something with her, she always had a face of extreme concern, almost as though she was afraid of him.

"Your intern ship ends in a few weeks. I need to know what you're doing. You need to log your hours two weeks from tomorrow. I need your decision by the first week of September." He simply stated, turning his attention back to the patient chart in front of him.

"Oh.. Well I already know my decision Dr. House."

"Oh really? And what would that be young padawan?" He asked, intrigued that she had already had her decision made considering the other possibilities that could arise between now and later on.

"I'm staying. PPTH might be small, but it's more advanced than eighty – five percent of the hospitals around the country. The diagnostics department is the best in the northern hemisphere if not the world. It's going to end up expanding and I want to be a part of that when it happens."

"Well then. I'll inform Dr. Cuddy of your decision, and we'll get your paperwork done so that you're an official member of the diagnostics team."

* * *

"I filed Masters's paperwork." Cuddy said as she intertwined her fingers with House's as they walked through Newark International Airport.

"Special treatment for your lover's department huh? Tsk tsk Cuddles. What would HR say about that?"

"Shut up." She replied as she rolled her eyes, smiling "I'm glad she's staying. She's got so much potential for someone her age. She's only nineteen and she's already graduated Medical School, it's amazing. I can't believe you didn't even want her on board at first."

"Too bad you forced her on me and she ended up growing on me."

"Everything I force on you ends up growing on you."

"Except yourself. You had already grown on me in med school."

"I never forced myself on you."

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when Cuddy saw a familiar face approach them through the crowds of people. She watched as the petite figure of Blythe House approached them wearing an ecstatic smile.  
"Gregory!"

Cuddy smiled taking a step back as she watched the scene before her take place,mother and son embracing after years of not having seen each other.

"Hi mom." She heard House say as she watched them pull apart.

"And Lisa! You just get prettier and prettier!"

"Thank you Blythe." She replied as she gave her soon to be mother-in-law a friendly hug. "It's so nice to see you again. How are you?"

"I've been well." Blythe responded as they broke apart."But enough about me. How are you! How's my boy treating you? Not giving you too much trouble I hope?"

"Oh of course not. Same old House he's always been."

"Ah well, I guess that it's true when they say people don't change."

"Cuddles, why are you lying to my mother? I am not the same House as always."

"That's right. You're not. But who am I to tell her that? That's something you should tell her yourself." Cuddy stated matter-of-factually.

"Oh please Gregory, do tell me of your so called changed."

Cuddy smirked, knowing that her little fib would cause House to spend the next hour recounting the past few years to his mother and just exactly how much he had changed.

Several hours later Cuddy reluctantly opened the door to her mother.

"Hi ma." She greeted, giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek before hugging her.

"Lisa, are you sure you're not pregnant again? Your tucas is enormous."

She rolled her eyes as she turned and began to head towards the living room. Leave it to her mother to ruin her mood.

"Mom, this is Blythe, House's mother."

"Ah, so you're the woman who gave birth to the schmuck that won my daughter's heart. She could have had anyone she wanted yet she chose your idiot of a son. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Hello." Blythe responded softly as she shook Arlene's hand. Cuddy couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her mother was an intimidating person to say the least, not to mention that her overall demeanor told practically everyone that she was not the nicest of people. She was completely and utterly blunt and had no care what so ever about the feelings of those around her. Blythe House on the other hand was the complete opposite of her mother. She was kindhearted and caring, willing to go out of her way for others. She was anything but intimidating, reminding Cuddy of a mouse in her shy and quiet demeanor. Completely the opposite of her son as well. House was loud and obnoxious. He was selfish and reckless, but underneath it all he was just damaged, broken.

Cuddy left the two women alone in her living room, surprised that they had begun to converse so easily without a problem. She made her way into the kitchen, smiling as she noted that Rachel was in her usual spot on the counter watching House and asking various questions as he cooked.

"What's that?" she heard her daughter ask as House sprinkled something into the pot of sauce he was currently tending to.

"Garlic. It'll give the sauce the flavor it needs." He responded in a phony Italian accent.

"Pasta again?" Cuddy interrupted teasingly. House always teased her because it was one of the only things she knew how to cook. She wasn't much of a cook, when it was just her and Rachel she'd simply order out from some sort of restaurant, if not she would prepare something simple. But with House, she loved the days when he did cook, because it was just one of the many things he excelled at. His cooking was just as good as the chefs she'd seen on television, but she would never tell him that. She would never admit just how much loved admiring him from afar as he cooked even the simplest face, watching his expression change throughout the process.

"Haha Cuddles. At least my pasta won't be as dry as yours." He quipped back smartly.

"Ass."

"Hey, watch your mouth around little cuddles."

Cuddy rolled her eyes before turning to Rachel.

"If I ever hear you repeat that word, you will never get to watch that pirates show you love so much. Do you understand?"

"What word you bloody scallywag?"

"There, nothing to worry about."

She moved closer to them and leaned against the counter top, inhaling the mouth watering aroma their cooking dinner.

"So tell me Master chef, what exactly are you making besides pasta?"

"Chicken Parmigiana."

"Ooh. Sounds great. How much longer?"

"It's done." He replied, dipping a wooden spoon into the pot of sauce before tasting it. "Try it."

She opened her mouth and he gave her a sample of the sauce. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste of it.

"You should really make dinner more often."

"You gotta give some to get some Cuddles."

* * *

House studied Cuddy from across the table, noting how her hand was shaking ever so slightly as she took a bite of the chocolate cake he had bought at the store for dessert. Dinner so far had gone surprisingly well. His mother and Arlene were getting along fine, leaving him astounded. They were waiting until everyone was full and satisfied in order to break the news of their engagement. He could tell that that was the cause of Cuddy's nerves, knowing how worried she was of how her mother would react.

"Cuddles, can I see you in the kitchen for a minute?"

He watched her look up at him, a questioning look in her eyes, before he stood and limped his way into the kitchen. He stopped abruptly, causing her to stumble and bump into him.

"Why are you so nervous?" He asked placing a somewhat reassuring hand on her upper arm.

"Because she'll probably cause a scene. Say something about it taking me forever to finally settle down, and then call me a whore again like she did last year. I just want to be good enough for her."

"She won't cause a scene. She may be the most over dramatic bitch on the face of the planet, but I'm pretty sure she'll end up chocking on whatever's in her mouth when we get back in there and tell them."

"Why are you always right?"

"Because I am the reincarnation of Galileo."

He pressed his lips to her forehead before giving her ass a quick squeeze. When they reentered the dining room instead of resuming his seat, he stood behind Cuddy's. Taking the wine glass in front of her, House noisily clanged a fork against it.

"Hag, mother. Cuddles and I have an announcement."

"Call me a hag again and I will castrate you." Arlene interrupted.

"As I was I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by the Wicked Witch of the West. Cuddles and I have an announcement."

"Gregory, enough with the hold up and just tell us what this announcement is."

"We're engaged." Cuddy smiled as the words left her mouth and she displayed her left hand to be seen.

House smirked as he heard Arlene choke on her wine.

"Oh my! Congratulations!" Blythe exclaimed, already making her way towards them. House watched as his mother and Cuddy embraced before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you Greg." She whispered into his hear, causing him to smile slightly.

"So hag, no response?"

"Shut up schmuck. My response is this. It looks like you and my daughter have _finally_ figured out that you're both idiots that no one but the other can put up with...and I'm glad."

"Well then, she has a soul. Who knew?"


	27. New Beginnings

_Dear god this chapter is SO SHORT and I totally understand if you hate me for taking so long to update and then giving you crap. I hate school for making me take so long and stressing me out beyond belief. But, uhm be patient with me please, I will try to update sooner, but school is my number one priority at this point, especially this year. On another note, those of you who are watching season 8, HAVE YOU SEEN HUGH IN THOSE PROMOS? I just want to like die okay, I've never flailed/screamed so much in my life. Anyway, uhm enjoy the short fluff I guess? and leave a review if you want. _

* * *

With the end of the summer came quite a few changes. House had reluctantly started physical therapy to try to better the pain in his leg. Wedding plans were slowly at work. Things were going as great as possible and Cuddy couldn't be happier.

She rolled onto her side, resting her head against House's chest and smiling as he wrapped an arm around her.

"You're going to be late."

"You mean we. You're coming with me. I can't do this alone."

"Separation anxiety already? Kid hasn't even started school yet and you're freaking out."

"Shut up. She's just growing up so fast…"

"She'll be fine."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. She'll be fine. Any kid of ours will do fine."

She felt him press his lips to her forehead and she pulled herself closer to him.

"I hope you're right." She mumbled before reluctantly pulling away. She stood, yawning as she stretched before heading into Rachel's room.

She wasn't surprised to find her daughter already awake, even though it was just a little past six-thirty.

"Momma!"

She smiled as Rachel jumped off of her bed and ran towards, her arms extended.

"Morning honey." Cuddy said as she embraced her daughter, giving her a light peck on the cheek.

"G'morning!" Rachel responded enthusiastically kissing her mother's cheek.

"Are you excited for your first day of school?" She asked softly, brushing back a few stray strands of Rachel's hair.  
The little girl nodded enthusiastically, causing her mother to smile.

"Good. Let's go get ready."

An hour later both Cuddy and House walked along side a bubbly Rachel as they entered Riverside Elementary. Riverside was the best public school in Princeton. It was conveniently located between their home and the hospital, meaning that if anything were to happen they would have no problem getting there as soon as possible.

"Don't cause your teacher any trouble alright?" Cuddy said softly as she bent over and kissed Rachel's forehead.

"I won't! I'm a good girl!"

"If anyone picks on you, remember what I told ya kid." House said ruffling the little girl's hair, causing Cuddy to roll her eyes.

"And what exactly did he tell you?"

"To come home and tell him so he can kick their butts!"

"That's my girl."

She couldn't help but smile as House and Rachel exchanged a quick high five.

"Okay now tell mom what you really have to do."

"I tell the teacher so she can tell them to leave me alone."

"That's more like it." Cuddy replied. "We'll be here to pick you up when school ends okay?"

"Okay."

She watched as Rachel entered the classroom, laughing softly at the sight of her daughter's Jack Sparrow backpack. Of course House would have that type of influence on her.

* * *

"How did dropping Rachel off at school go?" Wilson asked when he heard the sound of his door opening and the rhythmic tap of rubber on linoleum.

"Swell." House responded as he plopped down onto the couch in the far corner of the room.

"She cry?" Wilson asked, leaning back against his chair as he watched House toy with the red lollipop in his hand.

They'd made a bet to see if Cuddy or Rachel would cry. Cuddy because her little girl was growing up so fast, and Rachel because she was scared of starting school. If one of them cried, he owed House ten dollars, if both of them cried then twenty. If not House owed him twenty.

"Nope."

"You owe me twenty bucks."

"Ain't happening."

Wilson let out a low chuckle. Sooner or later he would have his twenty dollars.

* * *

"Rachel made friends." House heard Cuddy say as he got into bed beside her.

"Do tell Cuddles." He asked genuinely curious as to what sort of people their daughter was beginning to mingle with. He hadn't been able to pick her up with Cuddy because he had been in the middle of a physical therapy session. He'd started physical therapy only a few weeks back, and to his own surprise the pain in his leg was bettering. There was no way to regrow muscle; once it was dead, there was no way to revive it, but he was feeling a slight difference in the amount of weight his leg could now withstand.

"She made three of them. Their names are Kate, Cassidy, and Mandy. They really hit it off over her Jack Sparrow backpack."

"I knew she'd make friends with that. Who doesn't love pirates?" He smirked, turning to face her.

"Well obviously five year old little girls do." She replied, resting a hand on his chest. "How's your case?"

"Patient's stable for now. Went into cardiac arrest right as I was about to leave. Stabilized him and got out of there as soon as possible."

"Any ideas onto what it might be?"

"No."

"You'll solve it. You always solve them."

He felt Cuddy press herself against him, before feeling her gentle sensation of her lips against his.

"I missed you."

"Let's go out for lunch tomorrow." He replied, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Okay." She replied softly.

The truth was he had missed her as well. They'd spent such a little amount of time together in the past few weeks. Cuddy was dealing with a malpractice suit against the hospital that had been causing her so much stress he could feel her tossing and turning at night, whereas he just had case after case thrown at him, each taking longer than the last. It was about time they got some time together.

He felt her shudder as a yawn escaped her lips and smirked before pulling her closer to him.

"Good night Cuddy."

"Good night House."


	28. Doubt

_I bear news! Watch American Dad on the 2nd, because Lisa's doing VO for her character Sharri. Then on the 9th, her first episode of The Good Wife airs. :3 Anyway, here's a chapter! :D And leave reviews please? I apologize for anonymous reviews being disabled; I ran into some irrelevant harassment on here. :/ Anyway, I'll try to update as soon as possible, but in the meantime, enjoy! _

* * *

Cuddy smiled as she heard the door to her office open, automatically knowing it was House. She saved the current document she had just been working on and shut her laptop before setting it inside of her briefcase. It was only one, but they weren't planning on coming back after their lunch together. They'd spent so much time apart in the past few weeks that a few hours alone and away from it all wouldn't hurt them. She got up and stretched for a moment, an odd sound escaping her lips as she did so, causing House to let out a low chuckle as he limped towards her.

"Solved your case I'm assuming?" She asked as he slinked an arm around her waist. She placed a hand on his chest, looking up at him.

"Why else would I be in such a good mood?" He replied smirking.

"You're happy to see me perhaps?" She laughed softly before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No. I see you everyday. Why would I be happy to see you?" He quipped.

"You're such an idiot."

She pulled away and walked over towards her coat rack, grabbing the new Burberry wool cardigan she had treated herself to recently. It was only early September so it was still warm, but there was no denying that the fall was near.

They made their way to the parking lot, and got into their cars. She'd had a meeting and had opted to take her own car to work as to allow House to sleep in a little. She knew how precious sleep was to him because he rarely got any and she didn't want to cause him a reason to lose an hour of sleep. Twenty minutes later, she pulled up in front of the house glad that she'd gotten there before him. Sitting in his spot in the drive way stood an orange and black brand new 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R. House's bike had been totaled in his accident last year and he had yet to replace it. She'd secretly bought it when they had gone car shopping, but had opted to have them hold it for her until the perfect moment. What more of a perfect moment than the day they choose to spend a few hours together and leave the rest behind?

She got out of her SUV and leaned against the passenger door, waiting for him to pull up. When he did, she smirked as his eyes widened at the sight before him. He left his car half in the drive way and half in the street, not caring if he was blocking the side walk.

She watched as he examined the bike, eying it with a complete and utter look of disbelief drawn across his face. His hands ran across the leather of the seat, and she saw the smallest hint of a smile flicker onto his lips.

"So." She asked as he turned toward her. "Do you like it?"

Her question was answered when she felt him wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her up against him, enveloping her lips in his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was both passionate and gentle, causing her heart to flutter with each passing second at just how much he was saying with one kiss.

"I take that as a yes?" She said breathlessly when they finally broke apart.

"No. I hate it." He replied kissing her neck.

She rolled her eyes.

"Liar."

"Everybody lies. Come inside and get changed."

"Why?"

"Do you really want to go out in work clothes? We'll change into something comfortable, now come on."

They went inside and changed out of their work attire. Cuddy changed into a black pair of jeans and a pink sweater. House changed into a black shirt and jeans.

She noted that he'd gone back outside the second he was finished dressing, not even saying a word. When she locked the front door behind her and joined him in the driveway, she saw that he was holding up two biking helmets.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking you for a ride."

"No way."

"Come on, we need to spend more time together right? What better way to do that than on a motorcycle? Put on the helmet, and we can go."

She rolled her eyes and turned back towards the house.

"Where are you going?"

"If I'm getting on that thing, I'm messing up my hair. I'm going inside to grab a head scarf and a jacket because I don't want to freeze with that breeze either."

* * *

An hour later House grinned as he felt Cuddy wrap her arms tighter around his torso. They were riding down one of scenic routes of New Jersey and towards Island Beach State Park. Being the end of September, it would be empty, and it would be something enjoyable for the two of them to do together.

"You okay back there?"

"I'm fine."

He was surprised that Cuddy wasn't at all bothered or uncomfortable after being stuck behind him for an hour. Island Beach State Park was an hour and a half from Princeton, meaning they still had a little over twenty minutes to go, and being on the back of a bike was tiring. At first she had been reluctant to get on. He wasn't even sure she'd been on a motorcycle before, but if she hadn't, she didn't show it. He could feel how relaxed her body was against his.

When they'd finally arrived at their destination, House put down the kick stand, and waited for Cuddy to get off before him.

"Food now, beach later or beach now, food later?" He as he took her helmet and placed back onto the bike.

"Which ever is fine with me."

"Food then beach it is!"

The beach's small boardwalk consisted of a series of shops and restaurants. They settled on large and not at all crowded burger joint in between a souvenir shop and a leather goods shop.

"So what was the diagnosis on your patient?" Cuddy asked as they waited for their meals.

"Lupus." He replied stiffly, still finding it hard to believe that because it was rarely Lupus they'd easily dismissed it as the diagnosis.

"It's never Lupus."

"Which is exactly why we almost didn't solve this one on time."

"Well I'm glad you did, the last thing I need is another malpractice suit against us."

"Trust me Cuddles, I know that's the last thing you need. When was the last time you actually slept without tossing and turning?"

"That's not important. I need to get the paperwork filed, reports sent in before the meeting with the lawyer. There's too much on my mind for me to be able to sleep soundly."

"It's unhealthy."

"I'm fine House."

He rolled his eyes at her insistence. She was not fine. He could tell in the way that her hand shook as she ran her fingers through her hair, or as her coffee intake had more than doubled since she'd been informed of the law suit. The whole ordeal was taking a terrible toll on her.

"You're not fine. You're overly tired. You need to stay home for a few days and rest. I don't want you to end up over working yourself so badly that one day you're so tired, that when you're driving home from the hospital, you fall asleep at the wheel, or _something_ of the sort happens. I can prevent it. There's no way in hell I'll allow it to happen."

He watched as she opened her mouth to retort, but the second she was about to speak their meals arrived.

They ate in silence, both too annoyed to speak. It was pointless for her to get upset with him for caring. It was something she did every time he showed the tiniiest bit of concern for her. It was almost as though she either couldn't believe that he actually did care for her, or that she believed he was trying to control her. She had no reason to believe he didn't care for her, because he'd done nothing but show her how much he cared over the past year and a half in his own way. She also had no reason to believe that he was trying to control her, because he knew damn well that she was a grown woman and was capable of taking care of her self. The fact that he was telling her to take a day of was for her own sake. Not because he was trying to control her, but because he could see how physically tired she was. It was something that needed to be addressed.

"Why do you get that way?" He asked intent on finding out why she was so defensive when he showed concern over her.

"I don't know what you're referring to."

"I show a sign of concern, you turn into a bitch. You act like it's impossible for me to care about you. Why can't you accept that I do?"

"Because the last time I did, everything went wrong. I don't want that to happen again."

He smirked at her answer.

"I don't understand you sometimes. You've got this irrational fear of things going wrong for us. _I'm_ the one who's supposed to have that fear. Not you. I'm the one who's supposed to be afraid that things might go wrong. I'm the one that shuts everyone out, you're the one who's willing to talk about things. It's like we've got the roles reversed here Cuddy. What the hell is going on with you?"

"I'm sick of it. I'm sick of everything. I'm sick of work, I'm sick of having to sit through board meetings, of having to file constant paperwork, of wedding planning_. _I'm tired of it all. I just need a break."

"Then that's what you're going to get."

* * *

Cuddy leaned her head against House's shoulder as they sat side by side in the sand. It was nearing five o'clock and they had been sitting together in silence for the past half hour. The sounds of the waves and the cool start of fall breeze were soothing.

Their discussion during their meal had helped subside the doubt and anxiety she had been feeling as of lately when it came to their relationship. There would be nothing to go wrong this time around. He cared for her, and she knew it, and that was all that mattered. There was no denying that he cared for her. The way he had told her that she needed to take some time off to herself to rest was proof of it.

"Thank you." She said softly, looking up at him as she placed a hand on his chest. "For today. For everything." She reached up and brought her hand up to his face as she sat up on her knees.

"You're welcome." He replied just as softly. She brought their faces closer together before brushing her lips against his. She slipped her tongue into his mouth, tasting him as he pulled her up against him, his hand instantaneously moving to the small of her back.

"Maybe we should head back. We've still got a few hours left to ourselves..." She murmured against his lips as they pulled away from each other.

"If you're implying you want to have sex, just say it."

"Actually, I was thinking we could leave that for tomorrow, seeing as we'll have all day for that, but if you want to do it tonight that's fine with me." She retorted, smirking.

"No work tomorrow?"

"No. You're right. Maybe I do need to take a day off for myself. Well in this case it'll be a day off for us, but it'll be a day away from the stress of it all... And considering that tomorrow's Friday that means it'll be three work free days. We can have tomorrow all to ourselves. We need that. This afternoon just wasn't enough."

"You won't be saying that when we get home." House replied wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"You're such an ass." She smacked him lightly on the chest before leaning back against him.

It was a little past nine when they'd gotten back.

"I'm going to go check on Rachel." She said once the nanny had left. She slipped into her daughter's room and sat down on the edge of her bed. She ran her fingers through her hair before leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

"Good night sweetie."

She stood, surprised when she spotted House leaning against the door frame.

"God Cuddles, you're such a MILF."

"Shut up."

"You know," She said once they'd reached the bedroom. "You're probably the hottest DILF in the tri state area."

"DILF?" He replied raising an eyebrow.

"Dad I'd like to -" She felt him press his lips against hers before she could finish her sentence. She pushed him back against the bed and settled herself into his lap.

"Hm, I knew you would agree with that."

"And I know you'll agree with this." He replied cupping one of her breasts and giving it a squeeze.

"You're right about that..." She moved her mouth to his neck, already feeling his starting erection against her. She loved how easily she got him started. It made her feel attractive and desirable. She sucked at the skin beneath his jaw, biting down on it when she heard him groan. Her hands moved to his jeans and within seconds she'd slipped her hand inside of his boxers.

"I love how hard I can get you just by touching you." She murmured as she began to apply feather light strokes to his throbbing member. She started off slow, the sounds he was making causing the arousal within her to stir. As she drew out her gestures he groaned, moving his hips up against her hand. She dragged her nails along his length before leaning in for a kiss.

She let out a small moan as his teeth bit down on her bottom lip while one hand slipped beneath her shirt and bra. His thumb rubbed against her nipple causing it to peak in an instant. She felt his other hand wander down to her waist as his mouth wandered along her neck. She continued to stroke him, gradually increasing her pace. She loved to drag it out, to have that sort of control over him.

House slipped his hands down to the button of Cuddy's jeans as his mouth continued to ravish her neck with bites and kisses. The pace she was taking him at was driving him insane. Only that woman could drag out a hand job for that long without making him come in her hand. The truth was he always wanted to be inside of her when he came. He unbuttoned her jeans and pulled down the zipper just as she ran her thumb over the tip of his throbbing cock.

"Fuck." He growled in response before slipping his left hand into her pants. He heard her gasp as he pushed the lace of her underwear aside and pressed a finger against her slick clit. He rubbed her, just as slowly as she was currently trying to continue to do to him. He could feel the heat between her legs build up as he slipped two fingers inside of her as his thumb rubbed circles on her clit.

Cuddy with drew her hand from within his boxers and eagerly leaned into his touch.

"Don't stop." She panted as he added a third finger. A small whimper escaped her as he pumped his fingers into her at a painfully slow pace. She leaned her forehead into the crook of his neck as she felt her heart race. He pressed his thumb harder against her and she bit down onto his shoulder to contain her moan.

"Take off your top."

She pulled off her top and his fingers slipped out of her. He pulled off his own shirt before grabbing at her waist and pulling her pants off, along with her underwear. She returned the favor and pulled his pants off as well as his boxers.

"Bra that unhooks in the front? Nice." House said as his hands flew to her chest, unhooking the bra and sliding it off off her shoulders before pushing her back towards the foot the bed. He settled himself above her before thrusting into her. He wrapped his arms around her waist before pull back so that he was sitting up against the backboard and her legs where around his waist. Their hips slowly rolled against the other's, their timing in a steady pace.

They leaned in to kiss at the exact same moment, causing them both to smile before their lips met in their usual dance for dominance. Cuddy bit at his bottom lip, her tongue running across his teeth, savoring his taste. He tasted of coffee and testosterone. She shuddered as his hand moved down to her hips, pulling her closer to him and pushing himself closer to her core.

"Don't move." She murmured against his lips before squeezing her legs around him as tightly as she could. House groaned. She rolled her hips against him, causing him to hit her in all the right spots.

"Oh god."

House thrust upwards, causing her to almost go over the edge. Her heart was racing as their paces increased, the exhilaration of it exciting her. She could feel that he too was close. She could tell in the way that his breath came in short pants as his lips made contact with her shoulder blades. She gripped onto his shoulders as he thrust again, this time more powerful than the last.

"Oh god. Oh god. House!" She cried as she came, her walls tightening around him as she looked him in the eyes. Blue met blue and she could feel the electricity between them as their hands intertwined and she rode out the rest of her orgasm.

"Fuck Cuddy." House groaned as he came inside of her, pulling their still intertwined hands up to his chest and over his heart. She leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching, staring into his eyes as she did so. She moved her hand up to his cheek, and he closed his eyes,

"8 more months." She whispered softly.

* * *

_"8 more months" until what, you may ask? You'll see. Also, the motorcycle I mentioned, I actually saw one today in the supermarket parking lot, and freaked out. XD It wasn't orange and black, but more of a neon yellow and black, but still! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the huddy lovin' ;D don't forget to leave a review! Can we see if we can get to 700? We're so close! _


	29. Idiot Boyfriend

_Hello sweetie! Well sweeties... haha Here's another chapter. Before I let you go off and read, M would like me to ask you all that if it is possible for you to show an episode of House in one of your classes to do so, because she did so recently and she ended up creating a new fan. On another note, I suggest you read "Fix You" By paramorefreak24. It's very good and it's only on the first chapter, and seeing as Im her beta, I can guarantee to you that you will not be disappointed! So yeah, the usual. I'll try to update within the next week or two, I've got a lot school stuff to do. OH AND WHO'S EXCITED FOR LISA'S 3 EPISODES OF THE GOOD WIFE? :'D She's back and I cried. aha So there you have it, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!_

* * *

"Why am I here?"

"Because since _you_ told her she could be a pirate for Halloween, _you're_ helping her pick out everything she needs." Cuddy said as they walked down one of the many aisles at _Halloween Express._

House rolled his eyes before waving a hand at Rachel.

"Come on kid. Let's go pick out your costume."

"K!" Rachel said enthusiastically as she ran ahead of them towards the aisle dedicated specifically for pirate costumes.

"What's wrong with her being a pirate for Halloween?" He asked as Cuddy walked along side him, the distance between the odd.

"Nothing, but the fact that you told her _I _ would dress as a pirate as well without my consent is what's wrong."

"Oh come on. We'll all be pirates. It'll be pretty damn awesome."

"That's beside the point. The next time you plan on telling our daughter something that would put me in a compromising position should it not happen, I want to discuss it first."

"There's nothing compromising about that Cuddles. It's simple, you say yes. Because we both know that you can't say no to your little girl, or your big man."

"Do you wanna bet?" She said in an annoyed tone as she stopped in her tracks.

House studied her for a moment before deciding to drop it. It was obvious that she was in a bad mood, and the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with that at home. Not only that, but he didn't want to an argument to ensue in front of Rachel should he push her too far. That was not something he ever wanted their daughter to experience.

Rachel was not his biological daughter but that did not change the fact that he wanted her to have a better childhood than he did, especially when it came to her family life. He didn't want her to be subjected to witness a nasty argument between himself and her mother. He had overheard one too many of his own parents arguments during his own childhood. If he and Cuddy needed to argue over a matter, they waited until they were sure Rachel was deeply asleep, although if she were awake she wouldn't overhear them seeing as they tried to keep it down as low as possible in case she ever where awake during one of their arguments. Nonetheless they both wanted to make sure that she never heard the things they said to each other while they were arguing. Things could get nasty quick, but they knew that what was said was deep down not meant at all, that it was their own sick way of foreplay, but how exactly could you explain that to a five year old?

He turned and continued walking, leaving Cuddy time to cool off, before finding Rachel.

"Look I found my costume!" Rachel said as he turned the corner into the aisle. She approached him, and House looked down at the costume she had chosen.

"Angelica eh? You find one of those compasses of hers to go with it?"

"Daddy, it's not a compass, it's a Fountain of Youth kit." She replied matter-of-factually.

"Jeez, no need to be so snippy." He replied, amused by how much of a pop culture dork Rachel was when it came to anything _Pirates of the Caribbean _related. He made a mental note to make Wilson babysit more often seeing as he would obviously enjoy Rachel's endless pop culture knowledge. That would surely be a match made in nerd heaven.

"I found your costume too Daddy. And Mommy's."

He watched as Rachel walked down the aisle before stopping at the end of it and turning to look at him.

"Well? Are you coming to see it or not?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow and placing a hand on her hip. House couldn't help but smirk at the image before him. She was standing the exact same way, with the exact same expression Cuddy gave him when she questioned him. It was like he had Cuddy's little doppelganger in front of him.

"Calm yourself kid. Your old man's a cripple. You gotta remember that he can't move as fast as you'd like him to."

"Sorry daddy. I don't care if you're a cripple. You're still the best daddy ever."

"Thanks kid." House replied, ruffling her hair when he reached her. "Now where are these costumes for me and your mom?"

"Here." She said pointing to a Captain Jack Sparrow costume and a more adult version of her own costume for Cuddy.

He had to admit, the kid was pretty smart when it came to costume choosing. The Captain Jack costume was what he had been planning on dressing up as anyway, seeing as he was being forced to dress up, but the costume she'd chosen for Cuddy was definitely something he would love to see on her.

"Good choices kid. High five." He said holding out a hand for her to high five.

"Now come on, let's go find your mom."

* * *

Cuddy was examining a series of front yard decorations when she spotted House and Rachel approach her in tow with their costumes.

"Here." House said handing her her costume.

She looked at it, surprised because it was definitely not what she was expecting to be chosen out for her. Knowing House he would have picked out a skimpy pirate costume, but this one was anything but skimpy. The only somewhat revealing thing about it would most likely be the corset, but seeing as she had yet to try it on, there could be a chance it fit perfectly and that her breasts wouldn't be spilling out over the top.

"Hm. No stripper costumes?"

"You want one of those instead? There were a few back there. I could go get you one." House replied turning as though to actually go and retrieve one of the more revealing costumes.

"No, no. This one's fine." She countered, placing a hand on his upper hand to stop him. "I'm sorry. For earlier." She said softly removing her hand.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine."

"Did you find everything? Swords and all?"

"Yeah." House replied holding up three plastic swords.

With everything they needed, they walked over to the do-it-yourself registers.

"Can I do it?" Rachel asked, wanting to press the touch screen.

"Sure honey." Cuddy said as she picked her up so that she could reach the screen. Rachel loved to be the one to press the screen when they used the self check out lanes. Cuddy couldn't help but smile as she watched Rachel easily press the correct buttons without any help.

"Thank you momma." She said kissing her mother's cheek afterwards as they headed back towards the car.

"Why are you thanking her? I'm the one who just spent three hundred dollars on Halloween costumes."

"Oh shush, you're the one who decided we were all going as pirates." Cuddy said as she stopped beside him.

"Thank you daddy." Rachel said happily as she reached out to kiss his cheek as well.

"No problem squirt. Where's my thanks Cuddles?"

She rolled her eyes before pecking him lightly on the lips as Rachel giggled in her arms.

"Thank you for wasting three hundred dollars on costumes we'll only wear once." She quipped biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"I know other ways you can thank me for -"

"Not happening. It's already six - thirty, Wilson said he'd be there at seven to help with more planning."

"Oh great. More chick stuff."

"Well you can go out and find us all dinner." She said as they'd reached the car. She opened the back seat and buckled Rachel in before climbing into the front. Every time Wilson came over to help her with plans for the wedding House did nothing. No comments, no input, he simply sat in the living room watching whatever the hell was on television and it bothered her to no end. This was _their_ wedding, this was something he _should_ be commenting on. Something he should be putting input in. It was not something that she should be doing on her own.

"You should actually help with this you know."

"Why do you need my help? Wilson's helping you with it. That should be enough."

"Wilson is not the one I'm marrying." She snapped in a heated whisper, thankful that in the time it had taken them to pull onto the highway that Rachel had fallen asleep.

"You're upset because I won't help you plan?"

"This is something that you should be a part of. This is _our_ wedding. We've been through so much, and this is what we've been building on. It's not just a piece of paper to me. This means that we're committed to each other until the very end. This is what I've always wanted, and deep down I've always wanted it with you."

"I'm not helping you plan. You just said it, this is what _you've_ always wanted. I don't care about having a big wedding. I'm doing this big thing because it's what you want. It's what will make you happy. I want you to be happy. I want you to have the wedding of your dreams."

"And I want _you_ to help me plan the wedding of my dreams."

"No."

"House, please."

"I said no. I'm not helping you with this, this isn't something I want to screw up. I don't want to get involved into planning this thing. That's what the bride and her gay best friend are for."

"Why are you so goddamn stubborn? You don't even have to do anything than suggest a few things here and there. For god's sake it's not that difficult."

"Then you shouldn't need my help."

* * *

House almost felt bad for saying no. _Almost_. The truth was he had no desire what so ever to get involved in the wedding planning. It involved wasted hours at pointless appointments that could be better used watching _General Hospital_ marathons. If it were up to him, they would have been married by now in a civil court, but because he wanted Cuddy to have the wedding she wanted, they were going to get married with a Justice of Peace in none other than Florida of all places. Why she didn't want to get married in New Jersey was beyond him, but if it meant getting out of state for a few days extra days before heading to where ever the hell they were going for their honeymoon, it was fine with him.

The wedding was one thing, but the honeymoon was a completely different story. _That_ he would help with. Actually, _that_ was the one thing that he was going to plan himself with the help of Wilson and behind Cuddy's back. For all she knew they were going to stay in Florida for a week after the wedding, but that was definitely not what House had in mind. What he had in mind was something ten times better, and a hundred times more memorable than a week in Florida and going to Disney World.

He pulled up into the driveway, not at all surprised to see Wilson inside of his car waiting for them. He was always a few minutes early, and it annoyed the hell out of House. There was no need to be so obsessive compulsive. He got out of the car, already feeling Cuddy's glare searing into the back of his head. He walked over to the trunk and pulled out the costumes before walking over to Wilson.

"She's in a bad mood. Don't say I didn't warn you." He quipped before limping inside.

He set the bag inside one of the hallway closets before making his way towards the kitchen and taking two ibuprofen. The little spat back in the car had already started to effect his leg. Every time there was an argument over something it made his leg act up. It was like his body was punishing him for being an ass to the one person who had stuck with him through _everything_. Sitting on the couch and turning on the television, he cursed himself for allowing his subconscious to control his body in that way, for allowing _her_ to affect him that way.

Cuddy was the only woman to ever truly have any type of affect on him that was positive. She was the one who had shown him that he could indeed feel again, and that there was someone _willing _ to accept his feelings toward them. She was the only one who had actually been through everything with him, the one who had taken his abuse for years and had some how managed to fall for him. He couldn't help but question how the _hell_ she had fallen for him. He had done nothing but neglect her, verbally abuse her, and constantly harass her, and yet she _still_ chose to be there for him, even when he pushed her away. He didn't mean to be such a jerk. It was just a part of who he was and who he was always going to be. He had gotten clean for her not once, but twice. He kept her in mind more than he ever had thought he would when making decisions, but there was no way in hell she could expect to get _everything _she wanted.

* * *

Wilson sat across from Cuddy in her dining room, helping her pick out flowers from the website of the venue. House had been right, she _was _ in a bad mood. Not that she showed it towards him, but he could tell by how her nails clicked against the table when a page took too long to load or the website didn't have the information she was looking for.

"What about these?" He pointed at a bouquet of white roses.

"They're a hundred and twenty dollars a vase."

"You only get married – never mind." He said quickly, cutting himself off when he realized how idiotic he would sound if he had finished the sentence with 'once' seeing as he himself had been married three times, and that Cuddy had been married once before although it was annulled almost immediately. He heard her laugh softly at his slip up before speaking.

"But that's a little steep for roses don't you think? I mean, the venue alone is going to over five thousand dollars. Air fare would be be another thousand, add the hotel and that's already roughly seven thousand dollars."

"Cuddy, it's not like you've got a budget you're going on. You can afford to spend a little on your big day."

"I know."

"Then what's the problem?"

"There is no problem." He watched as she leaned back against her chair and ran a hand over her face.

"Why don't we wrap things up for the night? I'll order some pizza and we'll pick this up next week." She said tiredly.

Wilson nodded, making sure to cross flowers off of the list of things they had to get done. He collected the various papers that they'd had spread out on the table, placing them back into the accordion folder. Cuddy exited the dining room, and he walked into the living room, dropping down beside House on the couch.

"You're an ass." He whispered, his eyes on the kitchen, making sure that Cuddy was no where in sight. "She's trying her best here House. She wants you to be a part of this, but you're not willing to help out. All you have to do is say yes or no when she asks something. You know her better than she knows herself at times, I shouldn't be helping her with _your_ wedding as much as I am. I can only do so much. She needs you to tell her what she wants to here when she's making decisions. You've gotta be the one to tell her to do what she wants and to get that stick out of her ass and whatever the hell else you normally say to her."

"I dont have the time for this useless crap. So much energy wasted on ONE day. We're getting married in May, and she's already stressing out. There's seven months between now and then. She needs to calm down."

"She wont know that unless you help out and tell her. The longer you take, the closer to driving her over the edge you're getting yourself, and this time, she won't be as forgiving."

"Whatever Jimmy."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

"I ordered two pizzas and bread sticks. One pepperoni and one cheese."

Cuddy said as she exited the kitchen and entered the living room, dropping into seat farthest from House before pulling her feet up underneath her.

She was still upset with him over earlier. She couldn't quite possibly understand why it would be so hard for him to actually help her for once. She wasn't even asking much of him. Just his input on _their_ wedding. It made her feel odd that they were paying for this together, yet he had no care in the world about what exactly his money was being spent on. She sighed before standing and getting her purse ready for when the delivery boy arrived. When the pizza arrived a little over half an hour later, she barely ate the two slices she had taken. She said her goodbyes to Wilson and headed off to shower, planning on going to bed the second she got out of the shower.

Her shower lasted longer than she had intended, the steaming water relieving the tension she had been feeling in her shoulders and lower back, along with her neck. She stepped out of the shower, shivering a bit as the cold air hit her skin. Grabbing her towel, she exited the bathroom and quickly changed into her pajamas before sliding into the warmth of her bed. It was only several minutes before she heard the door to the room open and she closed her eyes.

House slid in beside her and she could feel the heat he was radiating. He reached out to pull her towards him and she opened her eyes, staring him down.

"Let go." She said slowly, already feeling the left over anger threaten to overflow her. He let go of her, and she turned her back to him before closing her eyes.

* * *

_reviews? _


	30. Good Man

_I'm sorry I took so long! Blame school. Dx I also got a bit distracted with the fic I'm posting after this one is done, which happens to be my nanowrimo novel... Also this chapter is short, but that's because I felt it needed to split it. I'll post the next chapter in within the next few days, tomorrow at earliest. Also, I just wanted to say thank you all so much for reading, I've hit 702 reviews, which just leaves me just under 300 to reach my goal of 1000 reviews, so THANK YOU. So here's the next chapter, enjoy & don't forget to review! _

* * *

Two weeks had passed and she was still upset. He knew he deserved it, but two weeks was too long. There had to be something that could make things somewhat okay without having to change his mind.

"House. HOUSE."

"Uh?"

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Wilson who was currently sitting across from him in the hospital's cafeteria.

"Were you even listening to a word I said?"

"No. I've got other things to worry about than your diabetic cat."

"I'm taking it she's still mad then?"

"Shut up."

"It's been two weeks House. Just apologize. Help her out a bit."

"I'm not apologizing. I didn't do anything."

"Oh for Christ's sake, just give it up. You know you're wrong. You know you should be helping her with everything. Yet you still choose to not do anything at all. You haven't changed. You're still the same selfish bastard. Think about someone other than yourself for once."

"Woah Jimmy, what's got your panties in a bunch?"

"I give up."

House watched as Wilson stood and walked out without looking back.

* * *

"Wilson, I honestly don't care anymore. There's no use in trying to get him to apologize to me. It's fine. I've learned to deal with him. If I hadn't I wouldn't be with him. Thank you for trying, but really, it's okay."

"I honestly don't know how you can put up with his crap Cuddy. Any other woman would have dumped his sorry ass a _long_ time ago."

Cuddy let out a low chuckle at her friend's involvement in her relationship with House. Wilson was and always would be a overly involved. Most people would be bothered by that, but she could care less. Wilson was a positive force when it came to her and House.

"I think you're forgetting that I _did_ dump him. You and I both how much of a mistake that was. He's a jerk. He has _always_ been a jerk. He will always continue to be a jerk. But the truth of the matter is that I need him and he needs me just as much. We may not be perfect. We may have our stupid arguments, and our disagreements, but everything aside, we make each other happy. He loves me. And I love him. That's all that really matters."

"So you're sure? You're fine with him not helping out?" Wilson asked for the umpteenth time since he had entered her office an hour ago.

"_Yes. _Now stop asking before I hit you. Don't you have a job to do? Why have you been in here so long anyway?"

"If you're not upset, then why does he think you are?"

_"Shit." _She thought to herself as she sat back and sighed.

"You lying little -"

"Alright. You got me. I'm still bothered, but at this point I'm just trying to move on. He's obviously not going to apologize. There's no use in trying. It's a lost cause."

After two weeks of more tension than usual, Cuddy was over it. She missed having him come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist before kissing her cheek. The intimacy between them had dropped drastically since the argument. They slept with their backs to each other and a space between them. She knew it was her fault, but he too was partly to blame. If only they weren't so stubborn and were willing to compromise.

"House is an ass."

"I've realized this."

There was silence for a moment before they both laughed.

* * *

House looked up from his desk as the door to his office opened.

"Patient's crashing... again..." Masters said as she passed him the file.

"And why are you so calm and collected? Shouldn't you be helping stabilize said patient?"

"Foreman, Chase, and Taub are on it. I came up here to tell you."

"Well go do your job."

"This _is_ my job."

"For someone with such IQ, it's incredibly hard for you to see that I don't want you here."

"If you didn't want me here you wouldn't have given me the option to stay when my internship ended."

House watched with curiosity as the younger fellow exited his office. For someone who had been such a timid mouse when she had first started her internship, she was no longer the same girl who would let everyone walk over her. She fought back, her remarks almost to par with those of her co-workers, sometimes even wittier and quickly retorted. With Cuddy as her mentor there was no doubt that she would have put up a wall to protect herself in a testosterone filled work environment. In a way he was proud of his young duckling for turning out the way she did, but he would never admit it.

The clicking of heels made him look up. The shades of his office were drawn, but he didn't need to look outside of the glass walls to know who it was. The door opened and she walked up to his desk, wearing a weary expression.

"We need to talk..." She said softly as she walked around to his side of the desk and leaned against it.

"Yeah, we do."

"This argument.. Look.."

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Maybe I'll help you out, but don't get your hopes up on it. I'm apologizing for the extra stress I've caused you. Yeah, I was a jerk, but I've always been a jerk, you knew what you were getting yourself into."

"Yeah. I knew."

He watched her smile slightly before running her hand through his hair.  
"I'm sorry too. For acting the way I did. You'll always be a jerk. I should be used to it by now."

She kissed his forehead as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'll see you at home."

* * *

It was almost three when she heard him enter the room. She had expected him to be home by ten at the latest, but he had sent her a text message informing her that his patient was still unstable. She had been disappointed. She had honestly expected to be able to spend their first night post argument snuggled up against his chest as they watched one of the many Halloween movies currently showing.

She turned onto her side as he climbed in beside her before resting her head against his chest.

"Why are you still up?" He mumbled into her hair.

"Another restless night."

She pressed herself closer against him as his arm snuck around her, pulling her to him.

Two hours later Cuddy groaned as her alarm went off, signaling the start of a new day. She raised her head to turn hit the snooze button as she was hit with a surge of nausea. She tried to sit up but the room was literally spinning.

"Jesus christ, of all days to get Vertigo it _had _to be today." She mumbled, closing her eyes as she pressed her self closer to House, the alarm still blaring beside them.

"Cuddy, turn that crap off." He growled as she felt him shift beside her and felt a pillow make contact with her side.

"I would if I could sit up. The room is spinning House. I can't even move."

"Jesus Cuddles, you're on fire."

She sighed. Vertigo _and_ a fever. She felt the bed shift as he left her side. The alarm suddenly stopped beeping, and she faintly heard the sound of running water. The bed shifted again, this time on her side.

"Here."

She opened her eyes and sat up, trying her hardest to concentrate on bringing the glass of water to her lips in order to swallow the two Tylenol he was handing her without dropping it. She swallowed the pills with a sip of water, afraid that the nausea would make it come back up sooner than she could attempt to make it towards the bathroom.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head forward. Her head was pounding and despite her fever she was freezing. She felt House's hand on her back as he rubbed circles between her shoulder blades. The heat of his touch felt soothing to her cold skin. She leaned against him, her head still between her knees.

"Go back to sleep. I'll call your secretary and tell him you're not going in."

"No, call him later. Just, stay with me right now..." Her voice cracked and she was afraid that she would start crying. That's how sick she felt. It was the feeling of being so ill that the simplest of things required too much energy and her entire body shook, even if she were sitting in bed.

"You'll be fine." House murmured into her ear as he pulled her against him and laid back so that she was against his chest.

Cuddy wrapped her arms around him as she tried her best to keep her teeth from chattering.

"Goddamn it, you're really burning."

"I'm cold."

"Your temperature is _well_ over normal."

"Shut up and keep me warm."

"You're more demanding when you're sick than when you're healthy."

"Shut up."

She could feel the pills she'd taken set in, and within a few minutes, she was out cold.


	31. Promises

_I apologize for the hiatus, I've been packed with homework, rehearsals and writing my Nano Novel. Anyway, here's the next chapter, I don't know when I'll be updating again, so be patient with me. PLEASE leave a review on your way out, and have a happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate it! _

* * *

"Jimmy, let Cuddy's secretary know neither of us will be in today."

"Had a little too much fun last night eh?"

House rolled his eyes, even though Wilson couldn't see him.

"No. She's sick. I can't leave her alone, even if she wasn't begging me to stay home with her."

"What's wrong with her?"  
"She has Vertigo and she's been running a fever since five."

It was a quarter past eight and House was sitting at the kitchen table watching Rachel eat her breakfast. There was no way she was staying home, and it would be no problem for him to take her to school on his own. It wasn't much of a hassle anyway. All he needed to do was make sure she had breakfast and make sure that she had everything she needed. He hung up with Wilson before grabbing his cane.

"Let's go kid, time for school."

"Where's momma?"

"She's sleeping."

"But she never sleeps. She's always working."

House chuckled, amused that at such a young age she already knew that her mother's life revolved around her job.

"Not today kiddo. Your mom's not feeling so good."

"Momma's sick?"  
"Yupp."  
"But you're a doctor, can't you make her feel better?"  
"I can, but I gotta drop you off at school first."  
"Oh. Ok. Can I say bye to momma first?"

He looked down at her, and contemplated what to do for a moment. If he said no, Cuddy would snap at him later on for not getting to say goodbye even if she was sick. If he said yes, Cuddy would snap at him for something else. Either way it was a lose-lose situation.

"Go ahead."

He followed Rachel down the hallway before stopping at the door to his and Cuddy's bedroom. He opened the door quietly, not at all surprised to find Cuddy still buried beneath the mound of blankets. He limped over to her with Rachel on his heels.

"Cuddy, your kid wants to say goodbye."

He watched her sit up before extending her arms to Rachel.

"Bye momma."  
"Bye honey, I'll see you when you get home alright?"  
"Ok. Feel better."

The little girl hopped off of the bed and ran out of the room, back towards the kitchen.

"I'm gonna pickup your script after I drop her off. I shouldn't take longer than half an hour."  
"Alright."

House made his way towards the door and just as he reached it she called out to him.

"House."  
"Yeah?"  
"Thank you."

He nodded his acknowledgment before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Cuddy heard the door shut as House exited the room. She briefly glanced at the clock. It was eight-thirty. Groaning, she pulled the covers around her. She was still cold, but not as cold as she had been when the fever first hit, which was a good sign. As for her vertigo, she could hardly wait for House to return with her meds.

She couldn't say she was surprised when she asked him to stay with her. House would have done anything to stay home from work. What did surprise her was how he had so easily responded to her being ill, getting her the tylenol and water to drink it down with without a second thought. She was wrong to ever have doubted his reliability, but she didn't regret having done so. Had she not, she had no idea what would have happened between them, whether they would still be together or whether some other obstacle would have brought an end to their story.

The half hour passed and she was grateful when House returned, her medication in hand. She swallowed the two pills before lying back down. She was still tired, seeing as she had tossed and turned until House had returned home at three in the morning.

"Scoot over. You're on my side." She heard him say as he climbed in beside her. She turned to face him. There were bags under his eyes, and she wondered if he hadn't gone back to bed after she had awoken hours before. He had only slept two hours when the alarm had gone off.

"Have you been awake since five?"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"But it was nothing, just a fever and vertigo. Things that people get all the time... There was no need for you to stay up while I slept..."

"Yeah well I needed to be sure."

She could feel her eyes brim with tears and she wiped at them quickly. When the part of House that showed her how much she meant to him came out, it never failed to make her cry. There was so much need from him to have her there beside him that it made her fall deeper in love with him than she had ever thought possible.

"Stop crying."  
"I love you, so much." She whispered as she buried her face into his chest. "More than I could have ever thought possible to love someone."

"Yeah well the feeling is mutual, now enough with the waterworks."

"Jerk." She murmured smacking him in the chest as she wiped her tears away. Leave it to House to ruin a perfectly good moment.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." He teased.

"Shut up and go to sleep, obviously that's what you climbed into bed."

"It couldnt have been to feel up my woman?"

"Your woman? Hah, please."

She would never admit it, but she was his. He owned her heart and soul. He always would. She knew that there would be no one else like him in her life and she was okay with that. He was the most incredible man she had ever known and he would always be the most incredible man she had ever known. She pressed herself against him as he wrapped an arm around her. She nuzzled into his side, laying her palm against his chest.

He fell asleep before her and she listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing, a sound that she had become so accustomed to hearing every morning and night. It was a sound that reassured her that she would have him for a moment longer. The fact that their wedding was only seven months away was something that made her unbelievably happy. To think that they would be tied together for life, until death do them part. She knew that there would obviously be struggles to come for them in the future; they were still the damaged people they had always been and would always be. But she also knew that the kind of love they had was something that could withstand anything. The arguments, the cancer scare, the break up, they had always found a way back to each other. No matter the circumstances their love would always bring them back to one another. When a person enters one's life, they are bound to said person by a string for all of eternity, no matter the circumstances the string is never severed. No matter what happened between them, they would always find a way back.

* * *

When House awoke it was half past two. He was perplexed to find himself alone in bed. He stood yawning, intent on searching for Cuddy. When she was nowhere to be found, he limped into the kitchen. There was a Styrofoam container on the table with a note.

"_Couldn't fall back asleep. Went to pick up Rachel, didn't want to wake you. Enjoy your Reuben. - C"_

He shook his head as he smiled, opening the container to his favorite sandwich. He grabbed a can of soda from the refrigerator and headed into the living room. He popped open the tab of his drink as he propped his feet up against the coffee table. Taking a bite of his sandwich he flipped on the television. He surfed through the channels, finding two marathons of his favorite shows, _Prescription Passion_, and _the Real Housewives of New Jersey_. Conflicted he opted not to watch either, and settled on a showing of _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid._

He was finishing up his sandwich when he heard the door open and sound of footsteps on wood. Before he knew it he was faced with the impact of Rachel slamming into his good leg, giggling hysterically as she landed on her book bag. He contemplated helping her up, trying not to laugh at the fact that she looked like an over turned turtle.

"Will you help her up?" Cuddy said rolling her eyes at him.

"It's pretty funny, plus it seems like she's enjoying this." He stated as he tapped Rachel with his foot, causing her to laugh even harder.

"House."

"Fine."

He reached down and picked Rachel up by her upper arms, setting her upright.

"Thankies!" She squeaked kissing him on the cheek before running off towards her bedroom.

"What are you watching?" Cuddy asked as she sat down beside him.

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

"Oh my god, change it."

"Why?"

"Just, change it."

"Not until you tell me why."

"House please, just change it."

Instead of changing the channel, he turned off the television. Whatever was causing her to react this way to a movie was something he needed to know.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"Nothing, dont worry about it." She said making her way to leave.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down beside her.

"Tell me."

"House, it's nothing. I dont want to talk about it."

'I dont care if you dont want to talk about It, how many times have you forced things out of me? Just go on and tell me."

"It reminds me of the nightmares okay." She looked away from him and he understood.

She had told him that what had lead to the realization of him taking vicodin when she had had the cancer scare were a series of dreams where he had been eating candy. She had never elaborated on the dreams and he had just assumed that they were average dreams, nothing different than reality. He had never thought that these dreams could have had a type of genre that could possibly trigger her later on.

"We were in the movie. The part where he goes out into the shooting, and I was Redford's character and you were the other guy and we went out into the gunfire together and I screamed out your name and you were gone.. Then I woke up."

"I'm not going anywhere, how haven't you realized that yet? I put a ring on it for a reason Cuddles. I'm not leaving you."

"Promise me that."

He rolled his eyes. He never promised people anything, but if it would make her feel better and secure, he would do that for her, and only her.

"I promise."


	32. The Bad Touch

_Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. There's not much to say except that hopefully I'll be updating sooner than usual because I am free at last! haha I now have time to write more than I did the past month. Anyways, leave a review on the way out why don't you! I'm not feeling the usual love, and that kills my motivation! :( Plus you'll want to leave a review after this chapter anyway hehe. ;) That's all for now! :D_

* * *

She squeezed herself into the corset of her costume, cursing under her breath for letting House choose her costume this year.

_"Never again."_ She thought to herself as she took a deep breath.

"What is taking you so damn long?" She heard House groan as he entered the room.

"I can't get this on alone." She huffed. He walked towards her and she held the corset against her. She had been battling it for the last fifteen minutes. She could feel the sweat slide down her blouse as he pulled her towards him.

"Hm... I guess I should have gotten it a size bigger." He teased as he tied the laces.

"Shut up."

She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. Knowing him he would have purposely gotten her costume in a size to small so he would be able to enjoy the sight of her breasts squeezed together in the corset. She felt the laces loosen a bit and she let out a relieved sigh.

"Thanks." She murmured.

"You're welcome." There was a moment of silence. The electricity between the pair was almost causing the air to crackle and sizzle between them. The look in House's eyes was as intense as she had seen them in a while.

"You look...great."

That was all it took for her lips to meet his and her arms to wrap around his neck. There were rare moments between the two where she would become so overwhelmed that she would simply act on the instincts deriving from her Id. The internal feelings of arousal would spring to life in an instant and cause her to act in a way that was out of the norm for her. Her hands had moved from his neck to his face as they continued to kiss, each second only making the moment more heated between them than the last. She let out a soft whimper as his teeth grazed her bottom lip. She let out a small sigh. She needed to stop anything else from happening. They were going to be late. It would take far too long to get redressed after taking so long to get dressed in the first place. They could have sex later when they got back, it could wait.

"House... We have to go." She said breathlessly as she pulled away.

"Why do you insist on ruining the good times?" He asked as he pouted, hesitantly letting go of her.

"Who says I'm ruining it? We can do this again when we get home in a few hours, and I promise you that it'll be so much better than it could have been now." She winked, knowing that her proposition would be enough to get him to settle down until they returned from the hospital's Halloween party.

Halloween was less than a week away and it was the Friday before the actual holiday. There had been no other possible day for the function to happen.

Secretly she wanted to skip out on it; it was something she dreaded almost as much as House dreaded clinic hours. She loathed the never ending conversations that would surely occur various times throughout the night with people she had no interest in speaking to what so ever. But of course she would never allow herself to skip one of the functions. She was Dean of Medicine for god's sake. She was the only person whose presence was absolutely mandatory at said events. She was the one who needed to introduce her donors to the employees of the hospital they were donating thousands of dollars to every year. She was the one who needed to make the good impressions on the new potential donors. Her presence was imperative.

She walked into her closet and picked out a pair of shoes that would be bearable enough to wear for the night and that would also go well with her costume. She scanned through her collection of shoes, settling on a pair of black knee high boots. She slipped them on before checking herself in the mirror. She straightened out her hat, and smoothed down her blouse. She raised her eyebrow at House, who was sitting on the bed, a mischievous look on his face.

"What ever you're planning to do tonight, the answer is if you screw this up, I'm not having sex with you for a month."

"Oh I'm planning to do something tonight alright, but don't you worry about it being about it having to do anything with your stupid hospital party."

She shook her head as she finished checking herself. Whatever he was planning she knew it would not end well.

* * *

House watched from across the room as Cuddy socialized with one of the ridiculously old donors of the hospital. He smirked as the man made continuous passes at Cuddy who tried her best to ignore him.

"Why did you get her costume in the wrong size?" He heard Wilson ask from beside him.

"Didn't do it on purpose." It was true, for once he hadn't purposely done something. The costume he had chosen for Cuddy was the right size. It either ran too small or she had gained weight. He honestly didn't care if she had gained a few pounds, but even he knew not to mention that. Cuddy was more self conscious than anyone could ever guess, and having been living with her for the past year, House knew better than anyone what set her off.

"Yeah okay. You _didn't do it on purpose._" Wilson teased.

"Seriously Jimmy, I didn't. I got it in her size, the thing must have run small."

"Right."

House rolled his eyes at his friend as he took a gulp of his drink. They had been at the party for almost three hours and it was one of the worst he had ever been to. Usually the hospital parties were somewhat bearable, but this one topped the cake as the most uninteresting of all time. Whether it was because of the fact that Cuddy was swamped with potential donors or because Wilson was too preoccupied with his new girlfriend to pay him any attention, he didn't know or care why it felt so boring; he just wanted it to be over and done with so he could go home and have the eagerly awaited sex Cuddy had promised him

. It had been almost two weeks since they had last had sex. They were both swamped with work. For once he was actually forced to do his job. He work load was literally continuous cases, one after the next. Cuddy was dealing with another malpractice suit against the hospital. The lack of physical activity between the two was obviously getting to them. The way Cuddy had practically pounced on him earlier after he had finished helping her get dressed was an immediate sign that she longed for the physical contact just as badly, if not more than he did.

He wondered how hard it would be to convince her to leave now. It was nearing eleven o'clock and they had been there for almost four hours. All he wanted to do was leave.

He took another gulp of his scotch before heading off towards Cuddy. He reached her, surprised that in the little time it had taken him to get to her she was now alone, no donor in sight. He slid his arms around her waist and she leaned against him.

"Soooo, what do you say we leave now, so we can get in a few extra hours of..."

"House, you know we can't leave until this is over..." He let go of her for a moment as she turned in his arms to face him.

"But moooooooooooom, this is boring. You promised me that we would..."

"I know I did. I intend to keep that promise too, but first we just have to wait for this to end."

"Come on, no one's even going to notice that we're gone."

"You know I can't just leave. I'm the boss, people _will_ notice that I'm gone."

He rolled his eyes. It was always about her job. She could never losen up a bit because of her job. He loved her to death, but sometimes he hated how much of a workaholic she was. It was the most irritating thing about her.

"Cuddles, you need to sort out your priorities. This job isn't the only thing in your life. You have other things that are just as important, if not more important than your job. Come on, leaving a few hours early won't be a big deal, just say you're not feeling well. You were sick last week, no one would question it."

"House stop trying to manipulate me. If you keep it up, you're not going to get what you want. Just another hour okay?"

* * *

An hour later Cuddy leaned her head against House's shoulder as they sat across from Wilson and his new girlfriend. She was a nice woman, a few years younger than Wilson. Apparently they had met at the supermarket. Cuddy couldn't really recall anything else she had heard them say except that her name was Chantal, and that she was Dominican. To be honest she was really trying to listen, but knowing Wilson and his luck in relationships, Chantal wouldn't be around for very long.

"Well I think it's time for us to go." Wilson said as he stood.

"It was nice meeting you." Chantal said lightly, flashing a timid smile at them.

"It was a pleasure." Cuddy replied waving.

"Yeah, what she said." House grunted, wrapping an arm around her

. She watched as Wilson and his girlfriend left, before turning to House.

"We can leave now."

"Finally. I thought we would be here forever."

"I told you it would only be another hour, now stop acting like it's the end of the world!"

"Blah, blah, I had to sit through another hour of torture. The things I do for you woman."

She rolled her eyes. The things he did for _her_. It was almost ridiculous that he would add that to the list of things he did for her when it was something that he didn't even have to do. He controls his will power to stay or go, not her. The fact that he came regardless of the fact that he would rather not be there was just proof of how whipped she had him when it came to some aspects of their relationship. The things she did for him were countless and had much more significance than going to a hospital party. She was the one who had put her job on the line countless times in order to save _his_ job. She was the one who was at his bedside everytime he was hospitalized

. "What do you want from me? A thank you?" She asked sarcastically, raising her eyebrow as he furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want from you."

"Well, too bad, because the only form of a thank you you're going to get from me is in bed." She whispered into his ear, brushing her lips against it as she pulled away.

"I know you'll be thanking me for that."

Cuddy let out a soft moan as House's fingers wound themselves into her hair and his lips met her neck. It was somewhere between one and two am; she had lost track and she honestly didn't care. They had just gotten back from the hospital, having stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading home.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back as House's lips continued to suck at her collarbone. She knew that there would be a mark to deal with afterwards but right now that was the last thing on her mind. What she had on her mind was the mind blowing sex she was about to have with her fiancee after two weeks of abstinence. They had been so caught up with work that they had had no time at all to get in some time alone together. Their lives had just been so hectic lately, and she was so glad that they would finally be able to physically recconect.

"You have no idea how badly I want to fuck you right now." She heard House say as his hands slid down her sides.

"I think I might have an idea, because I want you to fuck me as badly as you want to fuck me."

"God Cuddles, I love it when you talk dirty." He murmured against her juglar.

"Do you?" She teased, deciding to take it up a notch. She knew that she could get him going quickly, but she wanted to see how long it would take for him to _really_ get going. "Well, since you love it when I talk dirty, why don't you just listen to me talk for a bit? I want you to fuck me so hard that I'm crying out your name quicker than ever before. I want you to make me so wet that you can't wait to feel me tighten around you."

She let out another moan as he cupped her breasts, ripping open her blouse in the process. Majority of their costumes had been discarded long ago, they were only left in the simple clothing that could easily be replaced. She felt him reach behind her and snap open her bra. Her hands flew to his chest and her skilled fingers unbottoned his shirt with ease. She slipped it off before kissing the middle of his chest.

She could feel his erection pressing against her thigh and she let out a sofft chuckle. It never failed to amaze her just how quickly his arousal would come spring to life. He went in for a kiss, and she eagerly responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing his tongue enterance into her mouth. He tasted like scotch, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip before biting down on it.

* * *

He continued to run his hands along her sides as their kiss deepened before moving his hands down to her waist. He unbottoned her pants and slid them off before deciding to rouse her up a bit. He knew that her dirty talk earlier had been part of a game, and he was not going to let her have the satisfaction of thinking that he would fuck her faster than he intended to. He dipped a finger between her thighs, teasing her through the damp fabric of her panties.

He smirked as he felt her thrust against his palm. She wanted him just as badly as he wanted her, and he loved that. He continued to stroke her until she was completely soaked through. He could feel her clit throbbing against his thumb before pulling away. He took off the remainder of his clothes before slipping her thong down to her knees.

He entered her in one quick fluid motion, causing the softest of moans to escape her as she threw her head back. He smirked, before feeling her pull his face towards hers. The kiss was heated, filled with lust and desire. After two weeks of not consumating it was now extremely evident that they had both been longing to feel the erotic sensation that were well known to them both when having sex. His movements were slow and steady at first, wanting her to beg him to quicken his pace and having the satisfaction of hearing her moan as he teased her.

"Sometimes I really ha-" He smirked as she cut herself off by gasping as he thrust deeper inside of her, feeling her inner walls tighten around him. There was the sound of fabric tearing, indicating that her thong had torn as she wrapped her legs around his hips.

"What was that?" He teased, moving his lips towards her chest and kissing along her breast bone. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him just as she arched her back towards him. He groaned in approval before turning over so that he was on his back and she was on top of him. He smirked again as he caught a glimpse of the look on her face before she flipped her head back. Her grey eyes were full of the fire he loved to see in them when they were at it, the sign that he could always get her going towards the point of no return.

* * *

Cuddy leaned forward and ran her lips against House's jaw before sliding back down to her original position. She leaned forward again, causing House to groan in approval as he thrust upwards into her. The sound that escaped his mouth the second time was no where near to a sound of pleasure. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched his face contort in pain.

"What's wrong!" She asked as she dropped down beside him.

"Fuck Cuddy." He groaned in pain and she watched him slip a hand between his legs.

"I fractured it."

"_You what?"_

"Don't play stupid. It's fractured. Pass me my pants, we need to get to the hospital quickly before there ends up being tissue damage."

"_Oh my god, this is going to be humiliating."_ She couldn't help but think of the reactions and the gossip that would surely spread throughout the hospital when they all found out that _she_ had been the cause of House's injury.

She passed him his pants before quickly throwing on some clothes and helping him stand.

"I'm so sorry."

"Oh shut up. It's not your fault." He snapped as she walked him outside and helped him into the car. She shook it off, knowing that the pain he was in was something that she could never come close to imagining the extremity of. She ran inside and got Rachel, knowing that if she called Wilson to take her it would waste too much time. She strapped Rachel in and quickly got into the driver's side of the car before turning the key and driving off towards the hospital.

"Which one of your fellows is on call?" She asked as she brought her cellphone to her ear, already having dialed the ER.

"Chase."

She nodded, hearing someone pick up on the other line.

"This is Dr. Cuddy. I need Dr. Chase on the phone _now_." She said in her most authorative tone, not at all surprised when the nurse on the other line quickly called out Chase's name and the aussie casually answered.

"Chase, I need you to wait for me outside of the ER with a wheelchair. House's had a bit of an... accident, and I would really prefer if this would be kept under wraps. So have an empty exam room waiting for us as well."

She hung up and dropped her phone into her lap, dreading the embarassment that would surely come.

* * *

_Whoever figures out where I got this idea from gets a cookie. xD_


	33. Angel

_And I bring you the last update of 2011 for those of us in the world where it is still 2011, and the first update for those of you who are now living in 2012. I'm starting to get the vibe that House is becoming to get TOO OOC and please let me know if he is because I think he is, and I'm planning on fixing that within the next few chapters. As for the next chapters, I'm pretty sure by the time this fic hits it's one year mark, House and Cuddy will be married and that's all I can say about that. The next chapter, expect various holidays, birthdays, and the start of the new year for H/C which in this case is 2013. Also, expect family members to be back! Anyway, thank you all for your support this year; it's what keeps this fic going. I am so grateful to have such a large amount of readers, it makes it all worth while. I wish you all a safe and healthy new year! xoxo _

* * *

"Yeah, it's definitely fractured."

House groaned.

Two weeks of no sex, and when he finally got what he wanted he ended up injuring the most essential body part when to came to sex. He hadn't even been able to get himself nor Cuddy off before it had happened.

"You're gonna need surgery asap to reduce the risk of muscle damaged.

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

Surgery would mean at least another four weeks of no sex.

"Really sucks to be you right now."

"Shut up."

"I'm gonna go schedule you in the next spot for an OR."

"Give him a pseudonym. Just 'The Doctor'. I don't want anyone to know about this." Cuddy said from her corner of the room.

She had been silent the entire time. House knew that it was because she felt guilty. It was cute how she blamed herself for his injury even though there was no one to blame but himself.

"'The Doctor'? Really? Do I look like I've got a blue box for a car? Besides that would be too obvious, seeing as I'm THE doctor people come to see. Don't even bother. Either way the entire hospital's going to find out. The sooner, the better. It'll die down faster."

"House just do it."

"No."

"Uhm hello forgetting about me over here? Are you going to use a pseudonym or what?" The younger doctor asked, clearly amused by the banter of his two bosses and how easily they could forget that there were others in the room.

"No." House barked.

"Alright."

He watched as Chase exited the exam room and sighed

. "Cuddy." He waited a few seconds, surprised when she didn't respond or stand and walk over to him.

"Cuddy. Come here." This time he heard her stand and make her way over to him, her face hidden as she turned to look away from him. He shook his head before letting out a low chuckle. "Look at me." She looked down at him and he could see her cheeks redden. She was blushing, something that rarely happened, and it when it did it was because of two reasons. The first being when she was flattered to a ridiculous extent, and the second being when she was embarrassed to a ridiculous extent. Obviously since he hadn't complimented her since earlier in the evening it was the latter.

"I'm sorry." She said softly reaching out to stroke his cheek.

"Sorry for what? Riding me so hard that little Greg had to pay a price? Come on now, don't be ridiculous. I was the one who was a little too hard on you Cuddy. This injury is in no way what so ever your fault."

"But if I hadn't -"

"Blah, blah, blah. I can't hear you. Just stop apologizing alright? Little Greg and I will be fine, and you'll be riding again in no time."

"Shut up."

He watched as her lips pulled up into a smile as she swatted him on the arm.

"Okay, one injury for the night is enough. I don't need two."

"Fine." She replied, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

"And you say I'M the immature one. Right..."

* * *

Two hours later Cuddy watched House's surgery from the observation deck, the feeling of humiliation not having lifted at all. She'd already heard the whispers along the hallways. They had started the second House's name was written on the OR schedule. Although the procedure had been written as "muscle reparation", the fact that the hospital's Urologist was the one performing the procedure made it obvious to what part of the anatomy the surgery pertained to. An explanation as to how House could have injured that body part was not needed.

She sat down, head in her hands, not being able to watch any longer. She heard the door open and a familiar voice spoke.

"I heard what happened. That's what you get for acting like two sex crazed teenagers." Wilson said as he sat down beside her.

"Shut up." She groaned smacking him in the arm. "Why are you even here? It's five in the morning."

"One of my patients is in her final hours. She was admitted an hour ago."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. It's part of the job, what can I do?"

She nodded. She had so much respect for Wilson for being able to cope so well with the constant deaths of his patients. She knew she would never have been able to survive in Oncology. There was so much death and despair that it depressed her. Yet here was Wilson, still as positive and happy-go-lucky as he had been when she had first met him almost 20 years earlier.

"It's kind of funny how House is hospitalized again. This is the ..."

"The third time since last June." She replied shaking her head.

"At least it's for something... minor this time." Wilson replied holding back a laugh. Cuddy shook her head. Wilson had a point.

House was hospitalized for a minor procedure this time around, but she couldn't help but play the worried fiancee as she sat in the observation deck. She had been in that position so many times before and it was not something that she enjoyed. Each time it made her more and more worrisome, praying that House's body would not give up after having gone through one too many surgeries.

"Let's just hope this is the last."

"It probably won't be."

"I know." She replied letting out a sad laugh. No matter what, she knew that there would be many more hospital stays for House in the years to come.

* * *

When House awoke for the first time during post op, he was not at all surprised to find Cuddy fast asleep in the chair beside his bed. She was his guardian angel, keeping watch over him until she knew he would be alright. He knew that for a fact, seeing as Wilson had always made sure to tell him of the fact whenever he was hospitalized. Cuddy was always there, no matter what and he was thankful for that.

He grabbed the remote to the television, using it as a distraction from the stabs of pain he felt in his groin. Not only was the pain in his groin irratiating him, but he could feel the sensation in his thigh informing him that it was going to act up. He sighed, reaching for the call button and pressing it several times.

"What do you want House?" said a clearly irritated nurse Brenda asked as she entered the room, hands on her hips.

"I'm upping my dosage."

"You can't. It's fixed. The only ones capable of changing the dosage are your attending and the nurses. Too bad your attending's orders specifically say to not up the dosage unless it's checked with him first."

"Then tell him that you're upping my dosage."

"He's in surgery."

"Tell him anyway." He snapped. The pain in his groin was beginning to worsen, causing the irritation in his leg to increase. All he wanted was something to help ease the pain he was feeling, and dealing with one of the hospital's bitchy nurses was the last thing he needed.

"I'll see what I can do." He rolled his eyes as she exited the room, knowing that she most likely was going to wait until the attending came out of surgery to tell him. Patient's well being was supposed to be the first thing a nurse should worry about. That meant that said nurse should go to whatever lengths possible in order for the patient to be comfortable. Obviously that was not happening. He groaned as pain shot through his leg, loud enough to cause Cuddy to stir.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She immediately asked, her groggy voiceful of concern as she sat up.

"Nothing." He lied through gritted teeth, kneading the palm of his hadn into his mangled thigh. He didn't need her to worry about him even more. He hated making her worry over him so often.

"Don't lie to me." She said softly standing and sitting down on the side of the bed, taking his hand off of his thigh and replacing them with both of hers.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you." She said as she began to work her thumbs into the damaged muscle of his leg. House leaned his head back gritting his teeth as she massaged his thigh. As the minutes passed he could feel his thigh relaxing against her touch and he let out a relieved sigh.

"You okay?" She asked as she stopped, her hands dropping to her lap.

"I'm as good as I can be."

"How much pain are you in?"  
"Don't worry about it. I'm good."

"House come on. Don't lie to me. Have you told one of the nurses to up your dosage?"

"Yeah, and the bitch said it's fixed and my attending's permission is needed to increase it."

"What the hell? It shouldn't be fixed. Your dosage isn't even that high at the moment." She said as she grabbed his chart and looked through it. "The PCA is only set to a miligram. If anything that's too low. How many times have you had to press it?"

"Five. In the last half an hour. All it does take the pain away for five minutes."

"What the hell. How long ago did you tell the nurse?"

"It's been over half an hour."

"I'll be back."

House raised an eyebrow at how pissed off Cuddy currently looked. It was obviously due to the fact that he was the patient and as the entire hospital knew about his leg pain, his medication should not be fixed. It was also obvious that she was only reacting in such a manner because _he _was the patient. He turned is head, amused to hear Cuddy telling off his attending.

"It doesn't matter. He's on a miligram of it, the dosage is too low for the amount of pain he's in. The meds you have him on can't be mixed with the meds he's given for his leg, now get in there and up his dosage.

" He smirked as Logan, the hospital's urologist entered the room and upped his dosage from one to five miligrams. Hopefully it would help when the pain in his leg and groin would surely become excruciating later on. Cuddy reentered the room and as she made to drop back down into the chair, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her onto is hospital bed.

"It when you go from worrying fiancee to head bitch in charge in a matter of seconds." He teased, rubbing his tumb against the back of her hand.

"Yeah well I dont. I like having to take time away from being the head bitch in charge. It's irritating when your employees defy you."

"Even when it's me?"

"_Especially,_ when it's you." She responded laughing softly before running her hand through his hair.

"Now go back to sleep, you're being discharged tomorrow."

"I just slept like eight hours, I don't need rest. _You _do. Besides, I'm a grown man Cuddles. I think I know what's best for me."

"Of course you do House. Of course you do." He watched as she shook her head before throwing one of the pillows he was using at her. "Good night Cuddy."

"Good night House."

* * *

_I hope the title of this chapter makes since, it's after the song 'Angel' by Natasha Bedingfield. You know, the song about being protective her boyfriend? Hence Cuddy's bitch fit over how low House's medication dosage was. lol So be kind! Leave a review! Especially if you've never left one before! ;) Maybe it'll encourage me to update sooner! lol_


	34. Changes

_Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter. I apologize for the delay, I've been extremely busy with rehearsals, performances, auditions, callbacks, and exams. I'll try to update within the next two weeks, but I can't promise anything seeing as I start rehearsals for another show on Thursday. Also, I would like to thank you all for your reviews. I'm almost at 800 reviews, and by the time some of you read this, this story will probably have over that amount, but thank you so much for leaving them. You have no idea how happy an email notification that tells me I have a new review makes me. I love hearing your opinions, and like I've said many times before, reviews are what keep me going! So thank you! Enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review! :D_

* * *

"House, could you please come in here and help me?" Cuddy asked for the umpteenth time.

She was trying her best to cook Thanksgiving dinner for both of their families, and House was doing nothing to help. She was lucky that she only had to make a few simple things, but she would be grateful to him if he helped her. He was the better cook after all. He was always complaining about how she never let him cook, and now that she _needed_ him to help her cook he was hell bent against it.

"Hold on. Wait until the next commercial break."

"House, I need your help _now_, not during the commercial break." She said rolling her eyes.

He was really pissing her off. Usually he wasn't so difficult, but when he did it made her strongly dislike him. Was it too much to ask that he help her with some things? It was like the incident with the wedding planning, never willing to co-operate with her, always causing her as much stress at home as he did at home. It was the most irritating thing about him.

The commercial break came and passed and House had still seated in the living room. She let out an irritated sigh before putting down the knife she was holding and putting it aside. She walked into the living room, planting herself in front of him, blocking his view of the television.

"What are you doing Cuddy?"

"What does it look like I'm doing House?"

"It looks like you're interrupting me from finishing up this movie."

"That's _exactly_ what I'm doing. I asked you to help me out in the kitchen over ten minutes ago. You said you would help me during the commercial break. The break passed, and you're still here sitting on your ass."

"Cuddy, I don't want to help you in the kitchen. I'm tired. My leg hurts."

She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head.

"_You're _tired? Oh I'm so sorry House! You work so hard to be tired. _You're _the one who's up every day at the crack of dawn. _You're_ the one who runs an entire hospital and deals with a self-centered fiancée who only gives a damn about themselves. Oh wait, that's not you, it's me!"

"Cuddy, you're over reacting. I'll help you tomorrow morning."

"Shut up House. _Shut up. _You and I both know you have no intention of helping me tomorrow. Don't give me that bullshit. All I'm asking you is to help me out with this. Your mother is the one that's coming to visit us. The least you could do is help me make sure that my contribution to this dinner tomorrow night is something edible. Lord knows neither of us wants to hear my mother's mouth if I manage to ruin the food. I am going to ask you one more time House. Could you _please_ help me finish this up?" She sighed, rubbing her temples.

"After that fit? No."

"_Get out._ Get the hell out. Go somewhere, I don't want to deal with you right now." She took a deep breath, calming herself. She couldn't deal with him right now. She had too much to do and too little time.

"Cuddy, you're over reacting."

"I swear to god House, get out. I don't want to see your face right now. I'm tired and you're just making things worse for me. Get out. Go bother Wilson and his girlfriend or something. Just go."

She was just so angry at him. He could never let her get what she wanted and it made her so angry. She just needed to be alone. She was tired, and all she had wanted an extra pair of hands to help her finish a little sooner so she could go to bed and prepare herself for the next day which she knew would be even more physically draining, but no, she never got what she wanted.

She watched as he stood, grabbing his cane and heading towards the door. The sound of the front door slamming informed her that he was gone. She made her way back into the kitchen and resumed preparation of the food. There were tears as she chopped onions, and they weren't because of the vegetable.

* * *

"Excuse me." She said coldly as he stood in front of the mirror buttoning his shirt.

He rolled his eyes as he moved over, letting her examine herself in the mirror. The fact that she was so pissed off because he hadn't helped speed up the cooking process the night before was in itself ridiculous. After being together for so long she should know that he never does what he's told. She should have known that from before they had even established something more than an employer/employee relationship. He rarely did what she asked him to do. If he helped her out with something, it was because he _wanted_ to. It was because he wanted to show her that he did care, and that he wasn't just some selfish prick; he could actually do something productive that others would benefit from. Not because she had had a fit at his answer and ended up kicking him out of the house for a few hours. That was just idiotic, and was definitely not something that would make him want to help her.

Since when had she become the immature on in their relationship? Wasn't he the one who was supposed to be getting mad over stupid things like when she didn't want to have sex with him or when she asked him to do something out of his comfort zone? She should have been used to his disobedience by now.

He watched as she exited the room, following in suit. It was only one, but he had to pick up his mother at the airport in half an hour and Cuddy had to finish up whatever she had been making the previous night. He followed her into the kitchen, and kept his eyes on her the entire time.

"Stop staring at me. Don't you have somewhere to be, like I don't know, picking up your mother at the airport?"  
"She doesn't get here for another half hour, I can stick around a little longer."  
"No, you can't. It's Thanksgiving, there's going to be traffic, the airport is twenty minutes away. Leave now, or you'll be late for dinner, and that would put you in an even worse position than the one you're in now."  
"Right, because it would be my fault if I'm late for dinner right?"  
"Yes, because instead of making you're way to the airport, you're sitting here keeping me from getting things done. Go pick up your mother. Do something useful for once."  
"What the hell is wrong with you lately? You've been acting like a bitch over the stupidest things. So what if I didn't help you last night? I was actually going to help you once what I was watching had ended, but instead you decided to throw a fit like a ten year old. What the hell was that about Cuddy? Seriously, since when do you act so immature? I'm the one who's supposed to act that way, not you. You should know by now that I never do what I'm told. I do it when I want to do it, not when you want me to do it."  
"You knew how tired I was. You knew how stressed I was over this, and yet you still couldn't help me out, even just for a few minutes. That's not how thing between us should be working at this point. We've been together on and off for almost three years House, and we've made some progress, but there are still some things that we need to work on. We're getting married in six months, and you know damn well that there will be no divorce in our future because I'm not letting you go again. You are the most selfish, self-centered son of a bitch on the face of the planet, and you've caused me more pain than anyone could ever imagine, but I'm willing to deal with it because I love you. Why aren't you willing to deal with my needs?"

"Don't give me that bull Cuddy. I put up with your needs _every _day. I watch the kid when Marina can't you need to stay late, I go easy on you when you're not in the best mood, I'm not the picture fiancée and you know that."

"Maybe we should take a break…" She whispered almost inaudibly as her tired eyes met his.

"Come on Cuddy. There's no need to be drastic…"

"I'm not breaking up with you. I'm not calling the engagement off. I'm just suggesting that we take a few days off from each other as soon as your mother leaves, that's all. I just need some time to myself…"

"Okay."

He wasn't going to beg her not to. He knew she was upset at him, and although he didn't agree with her reasoning to be upset, he was going to let her take the break she needed, anticipating that it would cause her to move on from this little spiff. He had no intention of apologizing to her for doing nothing wrong.

He stood from his position at the table and grabbed his keys.

* * *

_ She had suggested that they take a break._ She couldn't believe she had been so stupid, so careless. The words had slipped out of her mouth before she had even had chance to process what she was saying. She was just so upset. She never made good decisions when she was upset.

She shook her head, cursing herself for being so idiotic in the first place. Why did she have to react so ridiculously the night before? Why did she have to throw such a fit over an insignificant problem? Over something that he did all of the time? This time she knew it was her fault. She knew she would have to apologize for it, but there was the fear of his reaction to it. Would he be more irritated at her than he already was or would he just forget about it, intent on letting the argument simmer down?

She decided to wait until after the holiday to tell him. It would be easier if it was just the two of them alone, no families to have to worry about. She would wait until his mother was gone to tell him that she had changed her mind. That she hadn't meant it what she had said.

She took a deep breath before starting to pull everything out of the fridge and beginning to heat it.

* * *

Cuddy was right. There had been traffic on the way to the airport and it had taken him longer than the half hour he had originally thought it would have taken him. He had been so delayed that he had simply pulled up in front of the sign that read '_Jetblue'_, called his mother, and within seconds had spotted her. He got out of the car to open the trunk and allow her to place her carry-on bag into it before feeling her pull him into her embrace.

"Oh Greg, I'm so happy to be here again. I'm glad you invited me."

"I'm glad you could make it." House sincerely replied as his mother patted his cheek. As smothering as she could be at times, he loved his mother more than he was willing to admit to anyone, and he was glad when he got to see her for a few days out of the year.

"How's Lisa? And the little one?" Blythe asked as they turned onto the highway.

"Cuddy's the same as always. The twerp was a little under the weather, but she's fine today. Woke up before anyone else this morning and was bouncing off of the walls before the parade even started on television. Once it did though she was good to go for a few hours."

"I'm glad to hear! I can't wait to see them again."

He nodded his acknowledgement, not knowing how to respond. He didn't want to mention to her that he and Cuddy weren't exactly on good terms at the moment. Nor did he want her to find out during her short stay. She was only going to be there until Sunday, and he didn't want her to worry about his issues nor did he want her meddling in his personal life. He was a grown man, he didn't need his mother's interference to make things better, he could do it himself.

* * *

Cuddy watched as her mother and sister hustled about the kitchen, fussing with the foods they had each brought with them. She had volunteered to help them, but as always Arlene and Julia simply suggested that she do something else, something that was more of her area of expertise. They always made her feel insignificant, as though she couldn't do the everyday chores they did simply because she had spent majority of her adult life working in her office at the hospital and not as a housewife like they had. They never failed to make her feel inadequate for choosing a path different than their own.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt something patting her hip. She looked down and smiled.

"Mommy, can I have some juice please?"

"Of course you can honey." She replied, setting the glass of wine she had been holding onto the counter and moving towards the refrigerator.

"Apple or Orange?"

"Apple."

"Thank you." Rachel said happily as she took the juice box. Cuddy bent over and kissed the top of her daughter's head before sending her off into the living room again.

"Lisa you know you shouldn't be giving that daughter of yours so many sugery, high fructose, concentrated drinks. She's already hyper active enough as it is."

Cuddy rolled her eyes at her mother's statement, choosing to ignore it as she took mouthful of wine to keep her mouth busy.

The sound of the door opening informed her that House was back from the airport with his mother. She immediately strode towards the front of the house to greet her future mother in law.

"Lisa!"

She smiled as Blythe pulled her into a hug.

"Hello Blythe." She said softly, noting that House was watching her closely.

"You honestly do get prettier each time I see you! How are you? How have thing been since the last time I was here?"

Cuddy couldn't help but smile as Blythe spoke. She was such an optimistic person, someone who was caring and loving of everyone in her life.

"Thank you... I'm great, things have been great."

"Greg hasn't been giving you a hard time has he?"

"Nothing out of the usual." She replied letting out a soft laugh, meeting House's glance.

"Good. Don't be afraid to let me know when he gets to be too much to handle, I'll set him back to his place."

Cuddy let out another laugh; she had no doubts that Blythe House knew how to keep her son in place.

* * *

"So when's the wedding bud?"

House internally flinched as Julia's husband Eric patted him on the back.

If there was anything he hated more than clinic duty, it was when people touched him. His personal bubble was a place that could only be penetrated by _very_ few people. Those people where obviously those whom he actually liked. Cuddy was allowed to pop his bubble whenever she wanted, because in the history of their entire relationship they had _always _invaded one another's personal space. They had continually had very little space between them, continuously practically standing on top of one another. There had never been a boundary between them when it came to how close they could be to one another.

The others consisted of Rachel, his mother, and Wilson. Rachel was practically his daughter; she invaded his personal bubble once in a while to seek attention. His mother was his mother. She was allowed to invade his bubble because she had given him life. She had raised him and given him the unconditional love and affection a child can only get from a parent. Then there was Wilson. In their entire friendship, they had hugged a grand total of two times. The exchanges between the two were always a playful form of violence, always hitting one another, but nothing more. Those were the only type of bubble bursting interactions he allowed.

"May 17th." He replied taking a swig of the beer in his hand. The date was something they had both agreed on. They had opted on the anniversary of their romantic relationship because it was a monumental moment in both of their lives. He would never admit it but even if they had never even made it to their first anniversary before they had broken up, that day would always be their anniversary to them.

"That's a Friday."

"Thank you, captain obvious."

"Where's the wedding?"

"Florida."

"Why Florida? You live in New Jersey…"

"Because she wants to get married in Florida. It's her dream wedding, she can do whatever she wants."

"Good luck with that."

House couldn't believe that this idiot would soon be his brother-in-law. He was a complete and utter moron. He was one of those arrogant assholes who thought they were better than everyone because they were good looking. He hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with him often.

The doorbell rang and before he knew it he Wilson was sitting beside him on the couch, rambling about how there had been traffic that had caused him to be late.

"Where's Consuela?" He teased referring to Wilson's newest girlfriend.

"Her name is Chantal. She's out of the country visiting her parents."

"She ask you to marry her so she can get her green card yet?"

"She was born in Manhattan. Stop being such an ass."

"Me stop being an ass? If that happens the world ends. You know I can't let that happen Jimmy!"

House looked up as Cuddy came over and sat down on the arm rest of the couch. He figured it was just an act to ensure that no one discovered that they were going through a rough patch. He could feel her arm on this back, caressing the area between his shoulder blades.

"Our mothers are getting along as great as the first time." She said softly, breaking the silence between the two as he took a chug of his beer.

"I'm still surprised your mom didn't attack mine the first time they met."

"So am I. I'm still amazed they get along so well."

He nodded, knowing that the only reason their mothers could possibly get along was because they both wanted what was best for their children. Arlene and Blythe were two women whose children had experienced far more than they had ever deserved and just wanted them to be happy together. Obviously they wouldn't cause their children more unhappiness by not getting along well.

The silence between the pair returned and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Every time they had an argument there was always an awkward silence between them. It's not as though they spent every moment of the day speaking to each other; there were days where the only conversation between the two consisted of a catch up of their days before bed, but when they argued it was difference. The silence was not something that either welcomed.

"Dinner's ready." Arlene announced as she exited the kitchen. "Get yourselves situated in the dining room so we can eat."

"I'm going to go help set the table…" Cuddy said before standing and exiting.

* * *

"Honey, eat your peas." Cuddy said softly as she came up behind Rachel and kissed the top of her head. She was getting herself another glass of wine and had stopped to check on the kids. Rachel was the only one not covered in food, which surprised her considering the fact that two years ago her daughter was eating with the wrong side of the spoon. Julia's sons on the other hand had managed to make a mess of the small amount of food they had been given.

"_Not my kids, not my problem."_ She thought to herself, as she reentered the dining room and resumed her seat besides House, thankful that her daughter was so well behaved.

"Julia, you might want to check on your kids…" She said before taking a bite of her food.

"So when's the wedding?" Blythe asked curiously. Cuddy noted as her future mother-in-law eyed her and House, almost as though she knew they weren't on the best terms at the moment.

"May 17th." Both Cuddy and House replied in unison, causing her to smile.

"Ooh, that's a good day. Where are you getting married?"

"Florida." House replied before she could speak.

"Actually, we're getting married here…" Cuddy said softly, turning to look at him.

"Since when?"

"Since a few weeks ago. I decided against the whole Florida wedding thing. We can get married at the beach here… It's easier and cheaper for everyone who's invited, even if it's just close family and friends."

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

She took a sip of her wine, trying not to flush at how embarrassed she currently was. She hadn't told House yet because she and Wilson were in the middle of the most grueling process of the planning; the invitations. He had helped her narrow it down to a little over a hundred people. It was mostly family members and the few close friends she had. She knew that for House's guests it would only be his mother and his team, a very small group of people.

Dinner wore on, and Cuddy was thankful when everyone had cleared out. Over the course of the night her mood had just decreased to the point where she just wanted to go to bed. As expected, her mother had made some unnecessary comment about her cooking, and House had gotten into a verbal sparring match with Julia's husband over politics. Not only that, but her nephews had also managed to make Rachel cry, and break a vase in the living room while playing tag.

She stepped out of the bathroom, running her fingers through her wet hair. She was completely surprised to find the bedroom empty. When she had gone into the shower House had been lying in bed watching television, now he was nowhere in sight.

She found him in the living room couch, with two pillows and a blanket.

"House, what are you doing?"

"You said you needed a break. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm giving you space. I can't leave while my mom is here, that would just make things even more awkward."

She sighed before sitting down at the edge of the couch.

"I didn't mean it when I said that. You're right. I was over reacting as usual. I was just so tired and stressed. I didn't mean to lash out at you. I'm sorry."

"I'm always right Cuddles. Never doubt me."

"Shut up." She replied, rolling her eyes before leaning into his side. "Come back to bed."

"I thought you'd never ask." House replied, standing faster than she could have ever imagined, almost causing her to fall sideways into the space he had previously occupied.

"Jerk." She mumbled before slipping into bed beside him.

"Oh shut up." He growled before pulling her against him and kissing her neck. "Good night Cuddy."

"Good night House."

* * *

The next month flew by in a whir. Between his mother returning home, Rachel's fifth birthday party, and a truckload of cases, House was glad when December 21st came around; meaning that the final day of work for the year had arrived.

Just as he had finished collecting his things and slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he noticed a familiar figure looming in the doorway.

"Hi."

"Well, well." He replied, as the figure stepped out of the shadows.

The two years since he had last seen her had barely changed her. The only differences he noted were that she now had bangs, and that the symptoms of the disease that would surely end her life within the next few years had become more prominent. He could see her hands slightly shaking as she pulled her hair up into a pony tail before approaching him.

"So, I hear a lot's changed since I asked for that time off."

"It's been two years, what do you expect?"

"Like for one, I hear you and Cuddy are engaged. Never thought I'd see the day when Gregory House was whipped into marriage."

House rolled his eyes at Thirteen. Two years later and still the same snarky bitch she had been before. It was nice to see that some people really don't change.

"So what brings you back to these parts of the woods?"

"I came to look for a job, what else would have me here?"

"Well, you've been replaced. You can't just disappear for two years and come back expecting to have your position still waiting for you. You want a job, talk to Cuddy."

"Already did. She told me to talk to you. It's your call."

"I'll see you in January."

* * *

_Reviews? I bet Thirteen's return came as a bit of a surprise no?_


	35. I Got You

_Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter. A few things before I let you off to read this. I've posted a hugh/lisa fic thing that if you're interested in reading you can find at partypantscuddy[.]livejournal[.]com. But anyway, that's unimportant ahah, just putting it out there for anyone who might be interested. Anyhow, I have a question for you all. I have this other fic that's 50,000 words deep so far. It was my national writer's month novel. Should I start posting it! It's set back in season 5, so it's obviously AU. There are about twelve chapters so far, so let me know in your reviews what you think about me posting it. If majority says yes, then it'll be up within the next few days. One more thing! Be sure to check out "You Don't Know My Mind" by incendioctober, it's fantastic so far, and she only uploaded it because we made a deal that if she posted her nano novel, I would post mine. Make sure to leave her a review if you do read it! Anyways, onto this chapter. Uhm, I know it might seem a little random, the things that happen...but they're not. At least to me they're not. You'll see as the plot unfolds later on. As for the title, I don't think it makes sense at all, but whatever. haha This A/N is getting long so I'm going to shut up now and let you all read. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! I know how many of you are reading this and have never reviewed! Don't be shy now, reviews keep me going! - Syd_

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" House exclaimed sarcastically as he shook the snow out of his hair, hanging up his coat and dropping his bag on the floor.

He was surprised to find the house in complete darkness. It was only half past seven, still too early for her to asleep. He made his way down the hall, stopping in Rachel's room to shut off the light, surprised the little twerp was sleep. He crept the door open to their shared bedroom, concern flooding him he caught the expression on Cuddy's face.

Her face was contorted in pain, and she was silently dealing with it, her eyes closed and teeth biting down on her lip. He limped over to her as quickly as his leg could allow before gently sitting at her side.

"What's wrong?" He asked, already making movements to examine where it hurt.

"Don't touch me. _Please_." She let out a cry of pain, before clutching her side.

"Cuddy, what the hell is wrong?" He urged, feeling more fear than he would like to admit at the moment.

"It's my back. It _hurts_. Everything hurts. It hurts to breathe, it all hurts."

"Come on, we'll take you to the hospital. Get some tests run. See what's going on."

"No, I can't. You don't understand. It hurts too badly. It'll pass… This has happened to me before, just not as badly... It'll pass. Just… stay here with me…"

"What do you mean this has happened to you before? Why am I only finding out about this now?"

"House, please, we can talk about this later… Please, just hold my hand…"

He did as she asked, only to comply to her wishes when she was in so much pain. He couldn't deny that he was angry over not knowing about this sooner. She was always telling him how he needed to be open with her, yet here she was, hiding her pain from him. He pushed the thought away for the time being; he needed to focus on her.

He rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand and felt her squeeze it in response. It seemed that pain was subsiding, but he couldn't help but be bothered by the few tears that were streaming down her face. He had never seen her cry because of physical pain. He had seen always seen her cry because of emotional pain, something that he could easily attempt to make stop. If it was because of emotional pain he could hold her, tell her it would be okay, he could go out of his comfort zone to make her feel better. But how could he do that with physical pain? He couldn't hold her in fear of hurting her. He couldn't tell her it was going to be okay. There was nothing he could do for her but wait it out and hold her hand.

* * *

The unbearable fire that had been coursing through her veins had finally ceased. She squeezed House's hand as a silent thank you before sitting up.

"What the hell was that all about Cuddy?" He hissed.

"Sh, relax." She replied, leaning forward and cupping his face in her free hand. "It's nothing… Just the aches of aging, that's all. My mother has arthritis, chances are I have it too, it's fine."

"It's not fine, you said you it's happened before. How long has this been going on?"

She sighed, knowing that it was best she tell him instead of keeping it from him.

"Do you remember that one day, about a year ago when we went out to breakfast with Wilson because there had been a board meeting that ended earlier than we had expected? When we were in the car, there was that moment when I leaned by head back and gasped because of the sharp pain I felt at the back of my head. That's when it started. Since then it's made its way down my spine and every so often it hurts, but not as badly as it did today. I never said anything because I didn't want to worry you."

"That's ridiculous. You need to have your back examined. There's obviously something wrong if your pain has gotten that bad in a little over a year."

"House, it's nothing, really. You're over reacting. Don't forget the fact that I was in a car accident over the last year too. It's nothing." She kissed him on the cheek before wrapping her arms around him.

"Thank you for showing your concern though, it means a lot to me." She whispered into his ear, shutting her eyes.

She wasn't telling him the total truth and it was killing her to have to hide things from him. How could she tell him about all the other things wrong with her? He would over react, he would try to diagnose her, make her one of his puzzles. She didn't want him to obsess over what she thought, what she _knew_ was nothing.

"Blah, blah, don't get all sappy with me Cuddles, it's what I should be doing, there's no need to thank me."

"Then I guess I won't be thanking you without words anymore." She teased, pulling away and running a hand through his hair.

"Damn it. You can't just tease me like that!" He whined.

"Actually, I can. Go take a shower or something, then come back and lay here with me."

"You're so bossy." He replied as he stood from the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as he limped his way into the bathroom.

"I'm fine, see." She stood before bending forward and bringing her nose to her knee, one of the most complicated yoga positions she knew. She stood again, smiling as House cringed.

"Okay then." He replied before shutting the bathroom door behind him.

She waited a few seconds before dropping back onto the bed, cursing herself for having chosen that position as the pain in her back returned once more. She closed her eyes, praying that it would subside by the time House exited the shower.

* * *

"Inconsiderate jerk."

"Masochistic bitch."

House had just gotten out of the shower and they were now nose to nose, trying to see who would lose their little game first. It was silly. They would lie in bed face to face, flinging insults at each other until one so stupid was said that the other couldn't help but smile. He hadn't really been in the mood to play, the gears in his head still turning over what had just happened. He couldn't help but worry over it. The fact that she didn't want to get it checked out was making his worry even worse. For all they knew there could be a tumor pressing against her spinal cord that could be causing her that much pain. It was in his nature to solve puzzles. His mind was buzzing with the possibilities of what could be wrong with her and it _scared_ him.

"Lint licker." He heard her say, pulling him from his reverie.

"Lint licker? Really? You and I both know that what I lick isn't lint."

"Shut up and go."

"Bitch tits."

She smiled first. She _always_ smiled first.

"You lost."

"Thank you Captain obvious. We're both aware of the fact that I lost."

"You always lose."

"Not always."

"Yes always."

"No. I know one thing I won and you lost." "Oh really? And what would that be?"

"Your heart."

Her arms had found their way around his neck and he looked down at her, trying to hide his smile.

"You're smiling." She said pressing her lips against his. "You lose."

He sat up, pulling her into his lap as continued to kiss. She was right, he had lost his heart to her. His mind went back to the thought of there being something potentially wrong with her. What if it was a tumor? What if it was malignant? What if he could be losing _her?_ He had already lost her once, but what if he were to lose her again with no chance at getting her back? He shook his head, hating himself for letting himself get so enveloped in his thoughts. Why did he have to negate everything? Cuddy herself had said it, there was nothing wrong with her, it was just the pangs of aging or signs of arthritis. That was all. There was nothing wrong with her.

"House? What's wrong?"

He felt her hand on his cheek, her thumb caressing his scruff.

"Nothing. I spaced out. Sorry…" He replied shaking it off as he ran his hands along her sides.

"Are you sure?"

"Cuddy, I'm fine. Geniuses space out too you know. Despite our godly good looks and our unearthly intelligence we _are_ human after all."

"Haha, very funny. Now shut up and kiss me."

* * *

"Good morning sunshine." She mumbled when she noted he had finally awoken. It was almost ten a.m. on Christmas Eve and she had been awake for almost two hours. It was so chilly out that even with the heat on the cold could be felt inside the house. She was cozied up against House's side, trying to absorb some of his body heat. This is what she got for giving in and having sex with her fiancée and then being too tired to put some clothes on afterwards.

"Morning." He grumbled groggily, kissing the top of her head before yawning.

She loved the way he behaved in the morning after waking up. It was when he was in his best mood because nothing had happened to ruin it yet. Sure there were mornings when he woke up on the wrong side of the bed but those were something she could deal with.  
"Merry Christmas." She murmured, kissing his chest before pressing herself closer against him.

"Merry Christmas." He mumbled.

"Get up so we can make breakfast, and by we, I mean you."

"Jeez, you're so demanding, I just woke up woman."

"So! Come on, I'll help you."

"Fine."

Half an hour later Cuddy let out a loud cackle as House came up behind her and started tickling her. She set the bowl in her hands aside before calling out Rachel's name to attempt to save herself.

"Rachel! Show your dad who the boss is!" She laughed as their daughter grabbed hold of House's good leg, causing him to turn his attention from the elder Cuddy to the youngest Cuddy.

"Oh, so you wanna come over here and beat on your old man do ya?" House growled playfully as he lifted Rachel above his head. "Well two can play at that game!"

Cuddy watched as House attacked Rachel with his scruff, causing the five year old to giggle and squirm in his arms. She absolutely adored watching House and Rachel interact because it showed her how great of a father he truly was even though he had doubted himself. He had had no reason at all to have doubted himself, she knew that deep inside he knew that if he tried he could be the best father that little girl could ask for, and that's exactly what he was.

When the games had ended, the three were seated at the table happily eating their M&M pancakes; House's specialty. Seeing as it was Christmas Eve and the fourth night of Hanukkah, she had made sure to bombard him into using the cutters she had purchased in order to have them festively shaped.

"You know, you should be thanking someone for this wonderful breakfast." House grumbled.

"Thank you mommy." Rachel replied, looking over at her father and sticking her tongue out at him. Cuddy had to spit her juice back into her mug in order to not sputter it all over the table as she burst into a laughing fit at what their daughter had just done. Five years old and she was already trying to push House's buttons. She could not wait to see how this would turn out in the future when Rachel was older.

"Thank you for this magnificent breakfast." She said as she kissed his cheek.

"Too late, the kid's already bruised my ego beyond repair. Ow, what a blow. First she attacks me physically, and now she's attacking me emotionally? Jeez, someone call protective services. The Cuddy women are going to kill me."

"I'm sorry daddy! Thank you for breakfast. It was _really_ good!" Rachel responded.

Cuddy couldn't help but laugh again as House told Rachel it was alright before sending her off to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

"You know she's got her wrapped around her finger." She teased as she took their plates and set them in the dish washer.

"She does not."

"Oh yes she does. She's your little princess, admit it. You spoil her like there's no tomorrow. I know about the cookies before bedtime. I'm not dense. Mother knows all." She winked.

"Yeah well that's only because you're a health nut and the kid needs sugar."

"Yeah, okay House. Whatever you say… As long as you believe it, then I guess that's alright."

"Damn right it is Cuddles."

* * *

It was nearing midnight and Cuddy was still surprised that Rachel had managed to stay up. She had made the mistake of telling her daughter that she could open one of her presents at midnight under the assumption she would have passed out long before the clock struck twelve. Seeing as it was now eleven – thirty, she knew she was dead wrong.

She watched from the couch as Rachel sat beside House at the piano. It had just been moved into the house a little over a month ago, much to her dismay and House's contentment. She watched as he started to play her serenade and smiled. It was a rarity for him to play it. Since the first time he had played it for her on the night they had gotten engaged, he had only played it for her two other times, summing up to a grand total of three. She stood from her seat before walking over to join them, coming up behind him as she wrapped her hands around his neck, resting her chin against his shoulder as the melody came to an end.

"You should really play that for me more often." She said softly as she kissed his cheek.

"Nah, takes away the sincerity of it. I only play it on special occasions Cuddles. You get what you get, and you don't get upset. Be glad I even played it for you that first time."

"Killjoy." She mumbled before picking Rachel up and placing her on her lap as she took her seat.

"Daddy, teach me how to play."

"Yeah House, teach her how to play."

"What's the magic word."

"Please." Rachel replied as she splayed her small fingers along the keys.

Cuddy leaned forward and kissed the top of her daughter's head before leaning her head against House's shoulder.

"That's what I thought. Alright kid. I'm gonna teach you 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star', because it's the only thing easy enough for me to teach you. That sound okay?"

"Yes!" The little girl squeaked.

It took less than twenty minutes for House to have taught Rachel the entire song. Cuddy couldn't help but smile at how easily their daughter had picked up on the tune, even if she wouldn't recall a single note of it by morning. The little things where what made her smile, especially when it came to House and his relationship with Rachel. She loved that time had proven House to be a great father to their daughter even though he had thought otherwise. She had never doubted that one day he would step up.

When it was finally midnight, an overly excited Rachel jumped for joy as House handed her one of her presents. It was one of the presents they had agreed on buying for her. Cuddy smiled as House dropped down beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders as Rachel began to unwrap the present.

The shriek of joy that came out of the girl's mouth confirmed that she indeed loved her present. Holding up the box containing her brand new pink 3DS, Rachel ran over to them and jumped into Cuddy's lap.

"Thank you mommy!" She said happily as she kissed her mother on the cheek and then hugged her.

"You're welcome honey."

"Thank you daddy!" The young girl said as she did the same to her father.

"No problem kid."

They set Rachel up with her new toy, showing her how to turn it on and how to actually set it to play the game.

"Now, elder Cuddy, don't you want one of your presents?"

"Not really." She lied.

She was curious as to what he could give her this time around, seeing as he had given her everything within the last year. What more could he give her?

"Oh, okay then. Guess you'll wait until morning then." He replied, pulling a rectangular box out from behind one of the couch cushions.

The box was about nine inches wide and twelve inches long. She raised an eyebrow at what could possibly be inside of it.

"Or you could give it to me now…" She responded attempting to take it from his grasp and failing as he lifted it out of her reach.

"Why should I? You told me you didn't want it, so I might as well make you wait for it."

"House! Please!" She pouted, knowing that it would make him easily give in to her.

"Fine."

He tossed the box into her lap and she smiled triumphantly.

"Go on open it."

She pulled one of the ends of the ribbon he had tied around the box and untied it before pulling off the top.

At first glance the box contained nothing but printed papers, but as her eyes scanned the text on the first sheet, she couldn't help but bring a hand to her mouth. They weren't just any papers. They were adoption papers to have House listed as Rachel's legal Guardian.

"When did you get these filed?" She asked feeing her eyes burn with tears of joy.

"Starting filing a month after we got engaged. Thought it would take a lot longer but they were sent back to me two months later. I've been waiting until now to show you. You sign them and I send them back and the adoption's final, Rachel will legally be mine. They'll send back copies within a month. I figured we get this done now to take some stress of off you since the wedding's getting closer and the planning is only going to get worse from here."

"Oh House…" She wiped at her eyes before leaning forward and kissing him. "You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you _so _much… I can't believe you did this for me…"  
"Yeah, well I'm not all bad. Plus the kid's not so bad either. I'm glad to be able to call her mine… Although if you ever bring that up I'll deny it."

She rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Of course you will House, of course you will."

* * *

_I apologize for it being kind of short, I felt bad because it's almost been two weeks and I haven't really had the time to write because of schoolwork and rehearsals. I promise though, I'll try to make the next chapter a little longer. Maybe if you're generous on the reviews they'll be some huddy lovin'. ;) Thanks for reading! _


	36. Get It Right

_Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews. I can't really reply to anything without giving anything away, just expect a few things within the next few chapters. The wedding for one, and expect A LOT of drama to occur after that. Anyway, it's almost 4:30 in the morning and I JUST finished writing this, so you better show your appreciation by reviewing! I hope you like this chapter! :D_

* * *

"Happy birthday." House said between the kisses he planted among her neck, his arms snaking their way around her waist. Cuddy yawned as she rolled over to face him.

"Thank you." She mumbled groggily as she opened her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him in for a kiss. Pulling away, she yawned before resting her head against his chest. She could feel his fingers rubbing circles against the small of her back, and she couldn't deny that it was turning her on.

She propped herself up onto her elbow before kissing him once more. She moaned into his mouth as he pulled at her bottom lip, one of his hands massaging her breast. Rolling onto her back, Cuddy pulled House with her as their kiss grew more heated and passionate with every passing second.

They pulled apart, and she smiled as House kissed her chin, followed by the hollow of her throat. He kissed his way along her body, lifting up her shirt to kiss her taunt abdomen. Stopping just above her pubic bone, he looked up at her and she nodded; there was no way she was going to say no, especially not on her birthday.

His skilled fingers hooked around her bottoms before pulling them off. She could feel the heat pooling between her legs before he pulled off her thong. She couldn't help but let out a lustful chuckle at the look on his eyes when he pulled her left leg over his shoulders.

She couldn't help but shutter when she felt his mouth make contact with her sex. Her hands clung to the sheets as he licked and sucked at all the right places, not hesitating to apply pressure to her swollen clit. He pulled her right leg over his shoulder as well, his hands moving to her hips, pinning her to the bed. Her hands left the sheet, only to move into his hair, her breath coming in soft pants as he continued to rile her up with his mouth. The coil in her abdomen was starting to tighten and she knew that soon enough she would be sent over the edge.

Her body quivered as he added the use of one of his hands, slipping two fingers inside of her and pulling them out at a painfully slow pace. She couldn't help the moans that were escaping her as she was driven to her orgasm.

"Jesus Christ. _Right there._" She moaned when she knew she was at her end. She could feel his fingers pick up speed before she clamped down on them, moaning out his name as she came, her toes curling. Breathless and satisfied, she pulled him up towards her, long for more.

Cuddy slipped her hand into his boxers, not at all surprised by how erect he had become simply by getting her off. She ran her slim fingers along his length, running her thumb over the tip of his throbbing cock as his lips roamed her neck.

She smirked as she continued to rub him. She grabbed his hips before pulling his boxers completely off as she felt him spread her legs. He slid into her and she couldn't contain the moan that was escaping her as the overwhelming feeling of arousal returned.

* * *

House groaned into Cuddy's neck as he thrust into her. He moved his hands to her hips before slipping off her shirt. He brought his lips to her chest, stopping at one of her breasts. He ran the tip of his tongue around her nipple before taking it into his mouth. He bit down on it as he heard her whimper in approval, her hand making its way into his hair, keeping him there. He complied, switching over to her other breast and doing the same. When he was finished, his lips went back to her neck, sucking at the point where her neck and shoulder met as he picked up pace.

His thrusts were short, yet powerful and he could feel her body quiver beneath his. Her panting in his ear was enough to inform him that she was close to a second orgasm. His lips found her mouth and he smirked against her mouth as her hands held his face to hers, before moaning into his mouth as she came.

The feeling of her walls closing in on him was so deliciously welcoming that he couldn't contain himself any longer.

"_God, Cuddy._" He groaned, panting as he climaxed. He ran his hands along her sides as he rode out his orgasm, kissing her every so often. When he was finished, he dropped down beside her before pulling her against his chest.

She brought her hand to his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. He looked down at the pair of grey eyes, the eyes of the woman he had come to need in his life more than oxygen itself. It was moments like this when it would always hit him just how much he needed her, how much she meant to him. She was his life, and as much as he would hate to say it, he couldn't be happier over the fact that their wedding was less than four months away.

"I love you Cuddles." He said kissing the top of her head.

"I know you do."

She nestled into him, and before he knew it she was out cold. He chuckled to himself over the fact that she was so worn out after being awake for a little over an hour and a half. He figured she'd be out for at least an hour before Rachel woke up and he would have to make breakfast for everyone.

He rubbed circles over her upper arm, drifting off soon after.

* * *

When she awoke the second time around, Cuddy yawned before looking up at House who was snoring gently, his arm around her. She smiled up at him, utterly content at being in his arms. She looked over at the clock on the night stand. It was only half past nine. A slight chill ran through her body and she nestled herself closer to him for warmth.

"Jeez Cuddy. Press yourself any closer and you'll be knocking me off of the bed."

"Shut up. It's my birthday, you have to be nice to me." She teased, feeling his hand caress her upper arm.

"Who says I'm not being nice? All I did was kindly hint that you should stop trying to push me off of the bed." He replied in an equally playful tone.

She smiled to herself before kissing his cheek and rolling away from him.

"I'm going to wake up Rachel. You go make breakfast."

She stood, bending over to pick her thong up off of the floor and rolled her eyes as she heard House wolf whistle behind her.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love your ass?"

"Repeatedly." She stated, slipping on one of his shirts and pulling on a pair of bottoms. "Probably over a thousand times since we've met."

"Make that a thousand and one."

"Noted."

Cuddy slipped out of the bedroom, shaking her head and laughing to herself at their little exchange. She slipped into Rachel's room and was completely surprised to find the little girl sitting up in bed watching television.

"Hey honey. How long have you been up?"

"I dunno."

"Why didn't you come and get one of us?"

"You and daddy was sleeping. I didn't want to wake you. Daddy's cranky when he doesn't sleep."

"Oh baby, that was so sweet of you." Cuddy laughed as she kissed the top of her daughter's head before picking her up.

"Happy birthday momma."

"Thank you honey."

She took Rachel into the bathroom and helped her freshen up before leading her into the kitchen. House was currently stationed in front of the waffle maker, impatiently waiting for the next one to be done.

Cuddy was surprised at how much he had gotten done in the little time it had taken her to help Rachel brush her teeth and what not. He had already set the table, a bowl of fruit salad set in front of her plate. He knew it was one of her favorite things to eat in the morning. There was also a steaming mug of coffee waiting for her, and a cup of apple juice for Rachel.

She set Rachel down in her spot at the table before taking her seat. She pulled the mug of coffee towards her and closed her eyes as she inhaled its scent before taking a sip. The brown liquid sent heat through her veins and the two spoonfuls of sugar doing her just right.

"You know me too well." She said as House placed a half blueberry, half chocolate waffle onto her plate.

"Thank you captain obvious. Of course I know you well. It's been almost three years. I've had the time to know you as well as you know yourself."

"You're onto something there."

She took a bite of her breakfast, realizing that what he had said was true. They had had three years to get to know each other more than they had known each other before. They had learned one another's morning routine, they had learned each other's pet peeves. She knew not to talk to him so much in the mornings because he was less likely to pay attention to a single word than he would be at any other time of the day. He knew not to test her when she was running late, or when she had a meeting. Tuesdays were when they lingered in bed longer than usual. Fridays were takeout night. He knew when she was on her cycle, and she appreciated that he didn't mind her mood swings or her lashing out for no reason at all during her time of the month, just like she knew when his leg was at its worse and she would more patient with him.

Three years to figure everything out and to finally get to a place of comfort and happiness. They had experienced their deal of dramas and tragedies along the way, but in the end what could have caused the end of their relationship only made them fight so much harder than they had been fighting before.

* * *

They had ended up spending the remainder of the day on the couch watching movies. He'd had to endure what felt like a month's worth of chick flicks, but he wouldn't complain. If that's how Cuddy wanted to spend her birthday, then he would let her do what she wanted.

When nine pm rolled around, he carried a sleeping Rachel into her bedroom and tucking her in. He limped back into the living room, only to find it empty. He turned off the light and made his way into the bedroom, shaking his head at what he found.

Cuddy was fast asleep on his side of the bed. He hadn't even gotten a chance to give her her present yet.

He pulled the slim box from his dresser and slipped the diamond bracelet he had bought for her when he had seen it while out with Wilson one night onto her wrist. He hadn't known what else he could possibly buy her, and so far the jewelry he had bought for her had been a success. The necklace he had purchased her for her last birthday never left her neck, and then of course there was the engagement ring, which she made sure to never take off as well. What wrong could one more piece of jewelry to the collection do?

He climbed into bed beside her and pulled her against him, where she belonged, before pulling the covers over themselves.

* * *

House had been behaving so well lately that Cuddy took it upon herself to make Valentine's Day extremely memorable for him. She knew he had always hated Valentine's Day, and even now that they were together he had still shown hesitancy towards the holiday. She was intent on changing that.

She left work early for once, and picked up Rachel from school before promptly dropping her off at her mother's at three – thirty. When she had done that, she stopped to buy a bottle of wine, strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate. Things that she herself would never indulge in because of the diet she had herself on, but was willing to break for the night as long as it made House truly appreciate the holiday.

It was half past five when she got home and it took her only an hour to get everything ready. She had the candles burning, bowls of chocolate, strawberries, and whipped cream set out on the dining room table, and the wine chilling in a bucket of ice. The last thing that needed readying was her appearance.

She slipped into the bathroom and changed into the lingerie House had gotten for her. He had hidden it in his sock drawer, and she caught a glace of them when he had carelessly left the drawer open a few mornings ago. The red lace push up bra made the top of her breasts almost spill out of it. She slipped on the thong before pulling out the red lipstick she saved for special occasions and applying some of it. She slipped on her bath robe before walking over to her closest and getting the final piece of her outfit, a pair of open toed red and black pumps.

She slipped on the shoes before making her way back into the dining room. Dimming the lights she positioned herself at the head of the table, propping her feet up and sliding the shoulder of the bathrobe down one of her arms.

* * *

"If it's Wilson's disease, then it's Lupus." Chase said rolling his eyes at everyone in the differential room.

"It's not Lupus. The rash isn't the typical facial rash that comes with Lupus. It's not Butterfly shaped." Masters replied, obviously annoyed at her coworker.

"So because the rash isn't shaped like a Butterfly you're going to rule out Lupus?" Taub challenged.

"It's not Lupus. There's not fatigue or fever, nor has there been any joint swelling." Thirteen chimed in.

House rubbed his temples. It was half past eight and all he wanted was to go home. He knew Cuddy had had something planned for them and he was eager to see what it was, but with his current patient being unstable and his team being nowhere near to solving the case, he couldn't leave. It didn't help that only fifteen minutes earlier Cuddy had sent him a picture of herself in the lingerie he had bought for her for the night. No matter how badly he would rather be in his home, pressing Cuddy up against a wall as his hands roamed her vivacious body, he knew he needed to stay and make sure his patient lived, or else have to deal with Cuddy's wrath afterwards. Besides, if his patient died, it would mean filling out too much paper work.

"We have a matter of hours before whatever the hell our patient has ends up forming a blood clot in her brain, so get your asses to work before she dies!" He growled. "I can't concentrate with you morons in here. Go run tests, if this patient dies because of your incompetence, your clinic hours are being tripled."

"He's only in a pissy mood because he doesn't get to go home to Cuddy like he planned on doing." He heard Thirteen remark as she exited the room. If it weren't for the fact that his ball was on the other side of the room, he would have pelted it at her.

He tapped his fingers along the table as he analyzed the patient's symptom's for what seemed like the millionth time. Clotting, headaches, seizures, rash, cardiovascular disease. There were multiple possibilities of what it could be, and they were nowhere near finding an answer. The tests run so far had all lead to dead ends. Either they were looking at the wrong grouping of diseases, of the case was unsolvable.

* * *

It was ten o'clock and she was tired of waiting. The candles were burned almost two thirds of a way down, the ice had melted, and whipped cream had dried out. She stood from the table and put the strawberries back into the fridge along with the chocolate and the wine before dropping the bowl of whipped cream into the sink.

She hated to admit it but she couldn't help but be a bit upset. She had gone to all of the trouble to make the evening worthwhile for nothing. She knew that something had had to happen with his patient to keep him from coming home to her and she couldn't blame him for that. It wasn't his fault, he couldn't control whatever state his patient was currently in.

She slipped into her pajamas and got into bed.

* * *

"It's Antiphospholipid syndrome." House declared as entered the differential room. He had been laying on the ground of his office when it had hit him. "It explains all of the symptoms. Put her on Heparin and Werfarin. She can be discharged in two days."

He watched his employees nod their acknowledgement before limping into his office and grabbing his stuff, eager to finally be heading home.

The house was completely silent when he entered, and he knew that was a bad sign.

Obviously Cuddy had been fed up with waiting up for him and had gone to bed. He knew he should have called or sent her a quick text message, but in attempt at trying to solve the case quickly in order to get home to her it had completely slipped his mind.

He sighed as he walked through the house towards their bedroom, noting the almost completely burned down candles left on the dining room table.

He slipped into the bedroom as quietly as possible before carefully climbing in beside her. She turned to face him before pressing herself against him.

"What happened?" She mumbled softly.

"Patient. I should have called or something…"

"Sh, don't apologize… It's not your fault." She replied, cutting him off by placing a finger over his lips.

He was surprised she wasn't angry with him. He had honestly been expecting the silent treatment or something for letting her go through all of that for nothing.

"We'll do it another night…" She murmured

."Are you sure?"

"Completely."

Even though she seemed fine, he couldn't help but feel bad about it, even if it was nobody's fault.

* * *

_There was smut earlier in the chapter, and no one was hurt! I deserve a review for that alone! xD Comments, concerns, or tragedies? You know what to do! :P_


	37. Planning

_Hi guys! Here's the next chapter. I apologize for how short it is, but I **promise** to make up for it in the next chapter. Speaking of which, there might be a large delay before the next update seeing as I hope it'll end up being an extremely lengthy chapter, and there's also real life stuff like rehearsals, and then I'll be away from home for 5 days at competition. But anyways, here you go. It's kind of a filler, but whatever, like I said, the next chapter will make up for it. Enjoy and don't forget to review! OH AND DON'T FORGET TO WATCH BLUE EYED BUTCHER ON LIFETIME TONIGHT AT 8PM EST. Lisa's back on our tvs again and I couldn't be happier! but uhm yeah, enjoy! _

* * *

"What about these?" Julia asked gesturing at the floral arrangement to their left.

Cuddy looked away from the bouquet of roses that had been calling her attention from the moment they had entered the floral boutique and focused her attention on the arrangement her sister was currently gesturing towards.

"Those are pretty, but they're not exactly what I'm looking for." She replied, letting her sister down gently. In all honestly the arrangement was unappealing. Carnations and lavender would have fit the season well, but would definitely not agree with her color scheme.

The colors she had chosen were cream and dark red. Red stood for passionate love, which were the only words to describe her relationship with House. It stood for power, which was a constant in their relationship. It was a color that defined them.

She turned back towards the roses. There were eleven white roses in the bouquet. To the left of that bouquet there were red roses. She knew that those were the flowers that she wanted. The white ones would be for her bridal bouquet, and the red ones for decoration.

"Honey, red roses are too traditional, and you're anything _but _traditional." Her mother said from beside her.

Cuddy rolled her eyes before responding.

"Exactly, so let me get the traditional roses for _my_ wedding." She emphasized on the word 'my' on purpose, hoping that her mother would get the hint and back off.

"Oy vey. Whatever you say, it's your wedding. Just wanted to give some suggestions that's all."

"Thank you ma, but no thank you. You already helped with the venue, the decorations, and the dress. Let me pick my flowers on my own please. I think I can handle that. Besides, roses are my favorites; you should have known I would pick them over anything else."

"I'd just assumed that would have changed over time, that's all."

She nodded her acknowledgement before heading over to the front of the store, intent on filling her order before her mother could pester her into changing her mind.

* * *

House impatiently tapped his cane against his foot as he and Wilson waited at the front of _Liberty Travel Agency_; the sole fact that he had to actually book his and Cuddy's honeymoon at an actual agency rather than online was irritating enough, but the small business's wait time was driving him insane.

They had been waiting for over an hour, and his number had yet to be called. For such a small place he couldn't deny that they were obviously doing something right in order to have the amount of people they had clogging up their front and waiting to book their reservations.

"Where do you even plan on going that it requires you having to do the reservations in person rather than online?" Wilson asked from beside him.

"Sorry Jimmy, can't tell you. You've got a mouth on you."

"I do not."

House let out a low chuckle.

"Yes you do. I can't tell you anything without you going and running your mouth off to Cuddy."

"That's a lie." Wilson argued.

"Oh really? Like that time I told you I wasn't going to go to the fundraiser and you ratted me out?"

"That was different, she needed you to be there."

"Right."

"Seriously though, tell me. Where do you plan on taking her?"

"None of your business. You'll find out all about it when we get back."

Before Wilson had a chance to respond, House's number was called. He smirked as his best friend glared at him as he walked away. He spotted the clerk with the empty seats in front of her desk and dropped down into one of them.

"Hello, My name is Katherine. I'll be helping you with everything you need. What can I do for you Mr….?"

"House. I need you to book me several flights and hotel stays."

"Alrighty, and what are the names of the passengers who will be traveling?"

"Gregory House and Lisa Cuddy."

"Ok. When would you like to book your first flight?"

"How about I just tell you when and where I'm going and then you just tell me the times and the hotels I need to choose from?" He asked, honestly not wanting to sit through the questioning that would surely ensue each and every time he stated a new location.

"That sounds great to me."

"Great. May 18th, London; May 31th, from London to Paris; June 14th , Paris back here. Sound good so far?"

"That sounds fantastic Mr. House. Now, your first flight, would you like it in the morning or midafternoon?"

"Midafternoon." He replied. The later the first flight, the better. Who knew how tired they would be after they left the reception. "Actually make all of the flights midafternoon."

"Well that would be an issue considering you would be back in New Jersey at three in the morning."

"Then make that last flight at whatever time isn't the middle of the night here."

"Alright. The hotels you'll be staying at, what type of sweet would you like?"

"The Honeymoon Sweet; in all of them."

"Okay. Last but not least, will you be needing a rental car in any of your locations?"

"No."

"Okay then. That will be a grand total of –"

"Don't want to know." He replied handing over his credit card. He knew it was going be expensive, most likely over ten thousand dollars, but it wasn't like he would go bankrupt; it was money he had to spend. He knew that even if he drove Cuddy insane for the month that they would be away for she would still love the gesture. Who else would go that far to give her the honeymoon of her dreams? He knew how badly she wanted to get married, and now that it was finally happening because of him the least he could do was plan the honeymoon. He had been planning this since she had said yes to his proposal. His scheming had been the reason why he had been hell bent against any type of wedding planning at all.

When everything had been finalized, he took the folder containing all the necessary information from the clerk before limping back off towards the front to Wilson.

* * *

"When's the big day?" The tailor asked as he handed Cuddy her dress.  
"A week from today." She replied, not truly believing herself as she said it. It felt so surreal to say that she would be getting married in a week. She took the dress before slipping into the dressing room to try it on.

"Ma, Jules, one of you, could you please come in here and tie the laces for me?"

"I've got it." She heard her sister say before pushing her hair forward. Cuddy held up the front of her dress as her sister tightened the laces of the corset.

"Tell me if it's too tight."

When the laces were tied, she turned around to face her sister intent on looking at her reflection in the mirror outside of the dressing room.

"God Lise… You look stunning. I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I…"

They exited the dressing room, and Cuddy let out a small gasp once she caught sight of her reflection.

The dress was even more perfect than she had remembered it to be. With its sweetheart neckline and column silhouette, it hugged her curves beautifully. The beaded embellishment across the ruched waistline was simple yet gorgeous.

"Save the tears for next week." She heard her mother comment.

"Mom, leave her alone. Why would she want to cry on her wedding day?"

"I cried on my wedding day… But then again I was pregnant with you and hormonal."

She couldn't help but laugh at her mother's comment.

"Doesn't everyone cry on their wedding day though? I mean the shear joy of marrying the person who completes you is overwhelming enough to cause tears of joy." She replied before looking at herself once more in the mirror.

She took a deep breath. After everything they had endured, in a week's time she and House would be married. She felt her eyes brim with tears at the thought of being his wife.

She changed out of her dress and spent the remainder of the afternoon running errands in preparation of the big day.

* * *

"Why did you wait until last minute to do this?" Wilson asked irately as stood outside of House's dressing room. They were currently at _Barney's_ because House needed a new tuxedo.

"Why are you even bothering to ask that? It's me. I save everything for last minute."

"You're getting married in a week, you should have already had a fitting tux."

"Well I don't. So I'm doing it now. Be glad I'm even doing it at all."

Wilson rolled his eyes, amazed at how lazy his best friend could be. Only House would wait last minute to make sure to buy a new tuxedo before getting married.

"Oh please, we both know Cuddy is the reason you're even bothering to get a new tux. If she was walking down the aisle and spotted you in jeans she'd have your ass afterwards."

He laughed at the mental image his mind had created of Cuddy screaming at House in the back of the limo. Deep down he knew that House was doing it all in order to make sure Cuddy got the wedding of her dreams, even if it meant wearing something he hated.

"This damn monkey suit is going to end up suffocating me next week. "

"Just think of it this way. You wear it for one day, make Cuddy happy, and then your relationship is so to say 'set in stone'. You'll be legally married, and I know you two won't get divorced."

"And this is coming from the man who's been divorced three times…" House remarked.

Wilson rolled his eyes. He found it funny how after knowing both House and Cuddy for so long, and how after knowing both sides of their story so well, that House was still oblivious as to how right he was when he said that they were going to last.

House and Cuddy were the opposite of what his own relationships with his ex-wives had been like. Though he and his wives had gotten along fine until the end of their relationship, House and Cuddy had always clashed, and as time went on their arguments where known to have a better outcome. They would be on bad terms for a few days and then suddenly it was almost as though it had never happened. They were polar opposites but they fit together perfectly. That was exactly why Wilson so strongly believed they would last.

"Okay, fine. Don't believe me." He replied crossing his legs as he watched his best friend walk back into the changing rooms.

After leaving _Barney's_, they met up with Cuddy and spent the remainder of the afternoon drinking beer and watching a Yankees game as the women chatted excitedly about the events of the next week.


	38. When Two Become One

_Hi everyone. Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for. Before I let you all go on to read this, I have a few things to say, like always except that this is more on the emotional note. Look at the publication date of this fic. It's been a year ago today that I posted this, and I just want to thank you all so much for your support. I mean it's not the best of fics, but it's been insanely popular from the start, and I am so thankful for those of you who have stuck around the entire time. I mean, it's almost at 1000 reviews, and I hope that by the ending, it has surpassed it. But anyway, I just want to thank you all for this, it really means the world to me that you like this story my imagination has come up with, and it really touches me when you review and let me know how you feel about it, or give me ideas. So really, thank you all. Also, a big shout out to paramorefreak24 who was my whiteboard during the entirety of this chapter, even going as far as to write a small part for me. Go on and read her fics! Also, read 'Thunder Road' by TeddisonEddison. That is all. I'm going to stop talking now, enjoy the longest chapter yet (7,625) and don't forget to leave a review! :')_

* * *

"I'll see you the day after tomorrow." Cuddy said softly as she ran her hands along House's arms. Their wedding was only two days away. They were saying their goodbyes so early because although they were all headed in the same direction, Cuddy's mother and sister had insisted that they all drive to Atlantic City in different cars; the men in one, and the women in other. Considering that it was a three hour drive and it was nearing midafternoon, Cuddy knew that he mother and sister would most likely rush her off to dinner, especially considering the fact that some of her close friends would also be meeting them there a night early.

"Guess so Cuddles." He replied before leaning down and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck before smiling against his lips.

"Don't have too much fun at your bachelor party… No licking any of the strippers." She said playfully although she actually meant it.

"I'm not Wilson, and I could say the same to you." He teased.

She rolled her eyes. She would never admit that she was a little afraid of whatever her friends had planned for her bridal shower.

"Ok. So, I'll see you on Friday. And make sure Wilson doesn't lose his pants!" She gave him a quick peck before heading off towards her sister and mother who were currently waiting for her by her car.

"You two are like lovesick teenagers." Julia teased, nudging her in the stomach.  
"Shut up." She replied giving her sister a playful shove.  
"Look at you two, both in your forties and acting like a bunch of little girls. Rachel is better behaved than you two are." Arlene commented as she shut the hatchback of Cuddy's Lexus, Rachel nodding at her side.

Cuddy let out a soft laugh at her daughter before extending her arms to her.

"Come give me a hug." She said knowing she didn't even need to ask when she felt her daughter's arms around her neck.

"I love you momma." Rachel said softly.

"I love you too baby." Cuddy replied just as softly.

"Enough hallmark moments. If we want to make it to Atlantic City before our dinner reservation with those annoying friends of yours we need to leave now." Arlene commanded, getting into the driver's seat.

Cuddy rolled her eyes at her mother before telling Rachel to get into the car and getting in right after her.

They checked into the Trump resort at half past seven. They checked into their rooms, and quickly showered and changed in order to make dinner on time. Cuddy changed into the red dinner dress she had made sure to pack. It was off shoulder and ended just above her knee. She and Julia left their kids in one of the playrooms that were supervised by hotel employees; there was no way they would be able to focus on their children during the night with so much going on.

"Lisa, don't you think that dress is too short for you?"

"No mother."

"Mom, jeez leave her alone. She's getting married the day after tomorrow, let her do what she wants. Lise, you look fine, ignore her, she's just being her usual self."

Cuddy completely ignored them both, not willing to let it bother her. Nothing could ruin the current mood she was in.

She was about to retort to another of her mother's snarky comments, she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned and couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when she spotted her.

Katherine Rodriguez had been her closest friend since Med School. She was five feet tall, olive skinned, dark haired, _extremely_opinionated, and blunt.

"Lisa!" Katherine exclaimed as she strode towards her.  
"Kat! It's been over a year since we last saw one another. How are you!" Cuddy asked as they embraced.  
"Well you know, still coping with the divorce. I threw the bastard's stuff out onto the front lawn before I left for here." She replied shrugging nonchalantly. "But who cares about me. How are you? How are Rachel and House?"  
"I'm great. Rachel's fantastic. She'll be so happy to see you. As for House, he's still the same as when you met him last year, only you know, a betrothed man now." Cuddy said letting out chuckle.  
"Ah so same arrogant ass from Med School? Some things never change."  
"They really don't." Cuddy laughed.

She had such a small amount of close friends that when she did see them all in one place it made her realize just how much she missed them. Usually she would meet with one of them every few months or so, but since the last time she had seen Kat was a month before she had gotten into the car accident, she had honestly had no time at all to meet up with any of the other girls. They would sometimes speak over the phone or Skype, but it wasn't the same as speaking face to face.

Dinner consisted of catching up with everyone since they had last spoken. Seeing as she hadn't had much time to speak to anyone in over four months, there was a lot of catching up to do. She was glad to hear that things had been going great for her friends in the past few months. Some had gotten promoted at their jobs, others had started new relationships or taken the next step with their significant others; she was as happy for them as they were for her.

"So how excited are you for Friday?" Melissa, PPTH's Pediatric surgeon asked excitedly leaning forward.

Cuddy laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. Melissa was one of the country's best surgeons and Cuddy had immediately employed her when she had applied at PPTH a little over five years ago. She was one of the sweetest people Cuddy had met and although they weren't best friends, she liked to consider Melissa as her close friend.

"Extremely. You've heard me talk nothing but wedding plans for the past six months, you shouldn't have even needed to ask that!"

"It's true. If I walked into her office to get something signed off, the second she realized it was me, she would already have something to ask my opinion on!"

There was the sound of laughter as the entire table chuckled.

They spent the remainder of the night conversing as they drank cocktails and such.

* * *

House watched as Wilson drunkenly stumbled along beside him, trying his best not to laugh at his friend. It was just past two in the morning and they were on the way back from the hotel's bar. They had spent the evening drinking while watching a baseball game with the rest of the males invited to the wedding. House hated to admit it but it was rather enjoyable, especially when he had watched Chase accidentally hit Taub in the ass with a dart.

He couldn't help but feel the nervous in the pit of his stomach begin to set in at the thought of getting married on Friday. Looking at his clock, he realized he had less than thirty – five hours left as a single man. But it did nothing to his mood. He didn't care that his bachelorhood was finally ending. It had ended the day Cuddy had ended things with him. He had never planned on being in a relationship with anyone else after her, and he was glad that she had given him the chance to prove himself to her again.

He remembered how when she had told him she was willing to try it again, he had said he wasn't ready. After he had pined for her during the entirety of their time apart, he said no. Then he had woken up with her draped across his chest in his hospital room and it had hit him just how much he missed her and that waiting would do more damage than good. So he had told her that he was willing to try it again as long as she accepted him as he was.

Now here he was almost two years later, just hours away from marrying the woman whom he had one point feared he had lost forever. Just hours away from making her his wife and proving to her and the world that he could do better for her. That he could make her happy and for the first time in his life, he was proud of himself.

* * *

"Lisa, get up."

Cuddy groaned as she felt an incessant poking in her side. She buried herself deeper under the comforters of her lush hotel bed.

"Lisa, it is five – thirty am, _you are getting married today_. _Get your ass up._"

At the sound of the words 'getting married', she instantly popped up.

"Jules! I was supposed to be up at four! Why didn't you wake me earlier!"

"Because honey, you didn't need to be up at four, I know you love being early, but that was _too_ early, even for you. Go get showered, wash your hair, get Rachel showered so we can go down and get our hair done."

"You still need to shower."

"I did that when I decided to let you sleep an extra hour, not _get up_."

She groaned as her elder sister pulled her up by the arms and directed her towards the bathroom, shoving her clothes in her direction. She turned, shutting and locking the door behind her. She leaned against the back of the door and closed her eyes for a moment before sinking down onto the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

_"I'm getting married today."_

* * *

"I swear to god Wilson, if you hit me with that pillow _one_ more time I am going to kick you in the nuts." House growled as he groggily rubbed at his eyes.

"Get up, get showered. You have things to do. There's no way in hell you're to be late to your own wedding because Cuddy will have my head."

He rolled his eyes at his friend. Leave it to Wilson to be more worried than the groom himself. House looked at the clock on his bedside table, it was just a little after six. Why in the world was he awake so early when all he had to do was get dressed, and make sure that he made it to the ballroom on time.

The wedding wasn't until noon, what was he going to do for the five hours after he showered?

He laid back down into his bed, before receiving a blow to the face with a pillow.

"Get your ass up and go shower House." Wilson commanded.

"I told you that if you hit me one more time I was going to hit you." House growled, making his way to stand.

"You can't hit me if you can't catch me." Wilson replied running towards the door. "You have an hour and a half to be showered, or I swear to god I will get both your mother and Arlene in here to get you in place." With that, he was out of the room.

House shook his head before standing and making his way into the bathroom.

* * *

Three and a half hours later Cuddy let out a huffed sigh as the hairstylist brushed her hair and the make-up artist applied yet another layer of cover up to her face.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry I insist on using so much make up on that gorgeous face of yours but I guarantee ya, you'll love what you see when I'm done with ya." The make-up artist drawled in a thick Brooklyn accent.

"Your hair is so fine and beautiful. Do you want it up or down?" The hair stylist asked as he snapped his gum, pulling a stand of her hair behind her ear.

"Down." She replied softly.

"Okay good, because if you had said up, I would have convinced you otherwise, because I already know exactly what I'm doing with your hair, and you are going to look stunning."

She nodded her acknowledgement before giving her attention to one of the magazines that were available for her entertainment.

She flipped through the pages, quickly losing interest in the contents of the magazine. Her mind was running at a million miles an hour. She hated to admit it to herself, but she was a complete and utter wreck inside. She was so nervous that she had barely been able to eat her breakfast earlier in the morning. She wouldn't have eaten it if her mother and sister hadn't been so insistent on her getting a bite to eat. She wondered if it her nervous were written all over her face.

She thought of House, and wondered if he was as nervous as she was. She chuckled at the thought of Wilson dealing with House and whatever mood he was currently in. A small part of her felt guilty for subjecting Wilson to the duty of making sure House did nothing stupid or reckless, but she knew that he had no problem with having to take care of his best friend because he did it all the time.

She sat deep in thought for so long that she hadn't realized when her hair and make-up had been finished.

"You ready to see what you look like?" The hairstylist asked as he slipped the simple yet gorgeous tiara into her hair.

She nodded, feeling her stomach clench as her chair spun and she saw herself in the mirror.

She felt her jaw drop and heard herself take a sharp intake of breath at her appearance. She looked _stunning_. She had always known she was attractive, above average, but she had never seen herself look so beautiful.

Although it had seemed as though there were pounds of make-up being applied to her face, in reality there had not been much done. There was a light layer of foundation to smooth her skin, and a very light pink blush applied to her cheeks. Her lips were a light pink, and her eye shadow was a light brown mixed with a bit of red, contrasting nicely with her grey eyes and making them pop more than usual.

Her hair was in loose curls, cascading down her back. The diamond encrusted headband was safely secured in her hair, half hidden, yet still in sight. She had to try her hardest to not let the tears that were threatening to spill over her eye lids. She stifled a sob before grabbing one of the various tissues being held out to her. She dabbed at her eyes, careful not to ruin her make up before taking a deep breath and composing herself.

_"I can do this." _She thought to herself as she sat up and smiled.

"Are those good tears or bad ones?" The make-up artist asked wearily, her eyebrows knitting together.

Cuddy let out a soft laugh.

"They're tears of joy… Thank you so much for this… I don't even know your names…"

"I'm Jay, and she's Jade and no, don't thank us. It's our job to make you look your best on your big day. Thank _you _for giving us the honor of assisting you." The hairstylist replied as he and the make-up artist made their way to leave.

"Wait, if it's okay with you two, I'd like to get a picture with you both. I want to remember this."

"Of course it is." Jade replied.

"Jules! Get take a quick picture of us for the album please!"

She posed with Jay and Jade before her sister snapped the picture of them.

"Thank you so much." Cuddy said once more, giving them both a hug before making her way back upstairs.

When she found made her way back to her hotel room, it was already half past ten. She was not at all surprised to find Kat impatiently waiting for her outside of her suite.

"Holy shit. Lisa, you look gorgeous." Her best friend commented as she caught sight of her, the look of pure annoyance leaving her face in an instant. "I would hug you, but I don't want to mess up your hair."

Cuddy let out a laugh before pulling Kat towards her.

"I'm so happy for you. I knew I'd get to see you walk down the aisle one day."  
"You don't know how glad I am that you're here."

The two friends embraced for a little longer before Kat pulled away.

"Well, are we going to get you dressed or what!"

* * *

Wilson watched as House paced back and forth in the hallway outside of their shared room. It seemed that his nerves were final setting in. He had no idea how the hell it was possible for House to pace back and forth for so long without his leg bothering him. He guessed the physical therapy he had started months ago had actually been helping.

After several more minutes of House's incessant pacing it was beginning to bother him. He had never seen him so nervous about anything in the almost two decades that they had known each other for. For someone as arrogant and confident in themselves as House was, it was an perplexing to see him so out of character.

"House, calm down. I've never seen you so nervous before."

"Don't tell me to calm down. You've done this three times, I was there for the second two, and you couldn't calm down. Your hands were clammy and you were sweating like a pig. Let's not forget the fact that you were hunched over the toilet bowl up until it was literally five minutes before either one of them was walking down the aisle. So compared to you, I am calm, so don't tell me to calm down."

Wilson rolled his eyes as House continued to pace down the hall.

"House, seriously. You have no reason to be nervous. Sure, it seems nerve wracking right now, but when you're waiting for her at the end of that aisle, you won't even remember the nervous, you won't even remember your own name. The only thing on your mind will be her, how gorgeous she looks, and how much you love her. Now _stop_ _pacing_."

He was surprised when House stopped pacing. It might have just been the first time in their friendship that House had ever listened to him.

"You're right. I can do this. If you ever tell someone I said you were right, I will kick you in the groin."

"Of course you will House."

* * *

House looked at his watch. It was fifteen minutes until noon, and he was internally freaking out. He could feel his heart racing at a thousand beats a minute and he was honestly surprised at how he hadn't managed to pass out yet. He was thankful he hadn't because that would put a damper on things.

"You're pacing again." He heard Wilson say. He stopped pacing and looked up to find Wilson standing in front of him with his mother.

"Hi mom." House said as his mother embraced him.

"Oh Gregory. My little boy… I never thought I would see the day where you would be getting married. I had honestly begun to give up hope. But thank God you're finally settling down. Even if it took you so long. I'm so happy for you son… I am so proud of you. I always knew you would get yourself together, even if your father didn't think you ever would. I always had faith in you. I knew you would get it right."

"Thanks mom." He whispered into her ear as she gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"You're welcome son. I love you. Don't you ever forget that."

"I know. I love you too."

* * *

She was trying her hardest to not have a panic attack as she waited inside the bridal room. It was five minutes until she was supposed to be walking down the aisle. She was so nervous she was shaking.

"Lisa, calm down. Jesus, you've no reason to be this nervous. Take a deep breath before you end up passing out when I walk you down the aisle, and God knows I don't want to deal with that." Her mother said from behind her.

"Gee Ma, _very_ reassuring." She huffed.

There was a knock at the door, and in walked Wilson.

"How're you doing?" He asked walking over to her, hands in his pockets.

"You have no idea how hard I'm trying not to pee myself right now." She replied.

"Ah, so you're in the same boat as House then? Great, seems like you'll both be doing well when you're up there saying your vows and declaring your love for one another in front of everyone."

"Shut up Wilson, you're making my nerves worse."

"Sorry."

"How is he though?" She asked, her heart racing as she thought about what was going to happen in several minutes.

"I told you, he's as nervous as you are. I came over here to check on you because his mother went over to check on him. He's been pacing for the past two hours."

"How's his leg?"

"Fine. It's like he's forgotten its existence."

Before she could speak, there was another knock on the door.

"It's noon." Thirteen said as she popped her head into the room.

"Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

House watched as Wilson and Cuddy's maid of honor Kat walked down the aisle in the middle of the middle of the room. He chuckled as he noted the expression on Chantal, Wilson's girlfriend's face as his best friend walked down the aisle with the other woman. He couldn't help but smirk as Julia came down the aisle with Thirteen at her side.

"Don't pass out old man." His fellow murmured smiling as she stepped beside Wilson. He had needed to another usher at his side and instead of picking one of his male fellows, he had picked Thirteen. She was more of a man than the men who worked for him, and it would be amusing to have something different than at most weddings.

"Don't count on it lesbian." He murmured back, smirking.

Rachel came down the aisle throwing the flower pettles, and he couldn't help but smile at her as she did so.

His heart beat increased, and he gave his attention the floor as he waited for the moment to come. The anxiety was terrible.

House looked up from the ground as the music started playing, and for what seemed like the first time in his life, he was completely and absolutely speechless.

Cuddy was slowly walking towards him in a soft, glowing manner, almost like an angel beginning to fly away. She wore an almost sly, sheepish grin as she carried a bouquet of white Roses in her hands. Her dress was simple, yet so, so elegant, just like her. He had always sound her to be beautiful, but now, now she was simply breathtaking.

For the ten seconds it takes her to walk down the aisle, House did the only thing he could do right. He thought. He thought about how he didn't deserve one bit of her pure heart, yet she gave it to him every day. She gave him her entire heart to hold, and he gave his to her. And somehow, in some way, it worked for them.

House blinked once, shaking himself out of his reverie, and then the small grin meant only for her began to grow on his face. Watching her had made his nerves completely disappear.

This was it. The one and only love of his life was walking down the aisle towards him. His only savior. His only lifeline. His other half. His soul mate.

* * *

She was gripping her mother's hand has hard as she could in order to calm her nerves. As she walked down the aisle, she kept her eyes on House, feeling her nerves die away. She couldn't help but contain the enormous smile on her face as her mother kissed her cheek before placing her hand in House's.

She looked at him and the smirk he was wearing, unable to contain her joy. She gave his hand a squeeze before they turned their attention towards the justice of peace.

He was a portly man, in his late sixties with a booming voice. It was amusing that although he was completely harmless, the man's voice commanded so much presence and obedience.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen. As you can see, we're here on this lovely May afternoon to witness the union of Gregory House and Lisa Cuddy. Seeing as this is a civil union ceremony, we don't have to go through all of that religious hullabaloo. Although they have requested to say a few words to one another before sealing the deal, so without further ado, let's hear what these two have to say about one another."

"Go first Cuddles." House said nudging her in the side.

"I knew this would happen…" She murmured, causing everyone to laugh.

She took a deep breath, her nerves suddenly returning as she turned to Kat who was holding out the piece of paper with what she wanted to say on it.

Reluctantly, she let go of House's hand to hold her paper with both of hers in order to keep it still long enough.

"First of all, I would like to say that I know many of you are wondering what the hell I'm doing marrying House. I bet you all thought I would end up with someone else, someone you think is way better for me. I bet you all thought I would have ended up marrying Lucas. But obviously I'm not. And if you have a problem with that, you obviously wouldn't be here right now. Anyway. That's not important. What's important is this moment. In this moment I am standing across from my best friend, my other half. Two years ago on this day I decided to tell House how I felt about him, and it was honestly the best decision I have ever made in my life. Well, second best to adopting my daughter. But that's besides the point. Today I stand in front of you all, finally giving my all to the only man to ever affect me."

She took a deep breath, feeling her nerves die a bit before continuing.

"House and I have known each other since I was eighteen. That's twenty –eight years. And although there were some years lost since then, I'm sure that we've made up for the lost time."

She looked away from everyone and turned her attention to House. "

You intrigued me the almost thirty years ago, and you still intrigues me today. I know to most you seem like an ass – believe me, you are an ass, but I've been lucky enough to see the side of you that loves unconditionally. You have proven yourself to me countless times, and although you don't believe it, you do deserve me. We have been through hell and back over the course of our relationship, a relationship that has gone from friendship to romantic relationship, to post romantic, and back to romantic. The near death experiences for both of us have done nothing but make me realize how much I love you, and how much I do need you with me. I had never thought I would see the day when I would love someone so much that it physically hurt to not be with them, and then there came you. The three months we were separated where the worst three months of my life. But I wouldn't undo them because we wouldn't be where we are now. Since then you have given me everything I have ever wanted in life. You have been a loving father to our daughter, you have put up with my family, and most of all you has put up with me. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with, and I know that I drive you insane, but you've put up with it all…"

There was a lump forming in her throat as she was nearing the end of it. She looked at his face for a moment and noticed his expression was impassive, but the small light in his eyes said it all. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Even when I didn't deserve it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that through everything I still love you. I wish I didn't, but I can't help it, and I couldn't have it any other way."

Cuddy wiped at her eyes before smiling at House who was currently intently watching her.

"Your turn." She said taking his hand and squeezing it.

* * *

House pulled out the square piece of paper from his breast pocket before turning to everyone in the room.

"I had originally had something written on a piece of paper, but you know what? Screw it." He said ripping the paper into pieces and throwing it into the air like confetti.

"Anyway. For once, I'm going to say what I really feel in front of people. First, let me quote the great Johnathon Safran Foer, whoever the hell that is. But as I was saying, the quote. 'I love you' means that I accept you for the person that you are, and that I do not wish to change you into someone else. It means that I will love you and stand by you even through the worst of times. It means loving you even when you're in a bad mood, or too tired to do the things I want to do. It means loving you when you're down, not just when you're fun to be with. 'I love you' means that I know your deepest secrets and do not judge you for them, asking in return that you do not judge me for mine. It means that I care enough to fight for what we have and that I love you enough not to let go. It means thinking of you, dreaming of you, wanting and needing you constantly, and hoping you feel the same way for me.' Now, that quote is complete and utter bullshit. Over the course of our relationship, Cuddy and I have done the complete opposite of that quote. We have tried to change one another. We have failed to stand by each other at the worst of times. We hate each other when one of us is in a bad mood. Okay, I'm lying. The _first_ half of that quote is complete and utter bullshit. But the second half, that sounds more like us. Cuddy, you love me when I'm down. You know my deepest secrets, and yet you somehow fell in love with me. You've fought for what we have. I love you enough to not let go. I think of you all the time. I always dream of you, I always want you. I will _always_ need you."

He looked her straight in the eyes before continuing.

"You are my savoir. I would probably be six feet under if it weren't for you, and I think everyone in this room knows that it's true. You are the reason that I am still alive. I don't know what I would do without you because I need you in my life. My life without you is incomplete, and the months when we were apart where the lowest points of my life. I'm so used to waking up beside you every morning that I can't picture a life without you. Sure we have our arguments. I'll end up sleeping on the couch, you'll go to bed crying. But every relationship has its ups and downs. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. You have been there for everything. The infarction, the coma, the mental breakdown, the emotional breakdowns, and yet you've still given me a chance. When I told you that you were my life, I meant it. I will _always_ choose you. You are the most incredible woman I have ever known, and you will always be the most incredible woman I have ever known."

He watched as she wiped away at her tears before she took one of his hands.

"Line stealer." She mumbled letting out a soft laugh. He smiled at her, shaking his head at the joke that only the two of them understood.

"Is that all you have to say?" The justice of peace asked.

"I don't know, you tell me." House replied looking at Cuddy.

"That's it."

"Alright then. Now before I give these two passionate love birds permission to put on their rings, does anyone object?"

House looked around the room, ready to punch anyone who dared ruin the moment.

"No? Alright, fantastic. So, the rings?"

House turned to Wilson who had pulled the rings from his pockets.

"Okay so Greg, slip the ring onto Lisa's finger and say 'With this ring, I thee wed'."

He did as he was told, watching Cuddy bite her lower lip as it began to tremble.

"With this ring, I thee wed."

"Great, now Lisa, slip the ring onto Greg's finger and say the same."

House extended his hand out as Cuddy slipped the ring onto his finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed."

"That's it. I know pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss your bride."

He couldn't help but smile down at her, wrapping an arm around her waist as she held his face between her hands, their lips meeting for the first time as husband and wife.

* * *

Cuddy couldn't contain the smile on her lips as she sat beside House at the reception. Their hands were intertwined and her head was against his shoulder. She had never thought she could feel so happy in her lifetime.

There was the sound of silverware clinking against glass, and she turned her attention to Wilson, who had stood from his place beside House. She shook her head, preparing herself for whatever speech the best man had prepared.

"Hi. So as custom in weddings, it's the Best Man's job to make a toast to the Bride and Groom. So, here I go. I've known House since the early nineties, so that's roughly twenty years. And in

those twenty years the only person I have seen him try to change for is Cuddy. Forget love at first sight. For these two it was _lust_ at first sight, and as time went on, it turned into love. I don't know anyone else who can handle House like Cuddy can, and I have never seen him love anyone, or anything for that matter, more than he loves her. These two are the perfectly imperfect example of what can come if two people are willing to better themselves, and put the past aside in order to be together."

She watched as Wilson turned to them, a goofy smile on his face.

"I love you two to death, and all I have to say is _I told you so_. May you two have a plethora of years full of your banter and love, and don't get divorced because I'm not choosing sides. Cheers!"

Cuddy let out a giggle at Wilson's speech before standing and embracing him.

"That was great Wilson." She murmured into his ear as he gave her a squeeze.

"I'm happy for you two. I did say so. It just took a little time."

"You did… Thank you for helping me see that."

If it weren't for Wilson's constant harassment when she and House had first ended things, they probably wouldn't have gotten to where they now were. If it weren't for Wilson giving House advice and listening to her when she was upset, none of this would have ever been possible. In a way, she and House did owe it all to Wilson.

"It was my pleasure."

Their embrace lasted a few more seconds before the MC announced that it was time for her and House to have their first dance.

"But mom, do we have to?" He whined as she pulled him up.

She rolled her eyes before leading him onto the dance floor as _She & Him's_ reindition of _"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" _filled the room.

She leaned her head against his chest, his arms around her waist, holding her close as they swayed together to the song. It was a song she had chosen specifically for him.

_I don't like you__  
But I love you  
Seems that I'm always  
Thinking of you  
Oh, oh, oh,  
You treat me badly  
I love you madly  
You've really got a hold on me_

_Baby, I don't want you__  
But I need you  
Don't want to kiss you  
But I need to  
Oh, oh, oh  
You do me wrong now  
My love is strong now  
You've really got a hold on me_

The song was one to perfectly describe her feelings when it came to him. There were times when she didn't like him. As a matter of fact there were times when she hated him and wanted nothing to do with him, but she could never deny that she loved him. She could never get him out of her head, she was _always _thinking of him. How could she not think of him? He was her other half, the person that completed her.

There were times when he treated her badly. When their arguments turned into shouting matches, or one of his jokes went a little too far and the night ended with them sleeping in separate beds, but no matter what, she would always love him.

There were times when she didn't _want_ him, but when she did, she _needed _him. She needed his body and mind, she needed every part of him. He had a hold on her, and it was a hold that nothing could break. She would always come back to him.

* * *

House rested his head on top of Cuddy's as the song changed into one he had chosen. Normally the bride and groom would dance for one song, then it would change and someone else would step in, but they weren't normal. They had each chosen a song to dedicate to the other and now it was his turn.

_Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones  
Turn into something beautiful  
D'you know? You know I love you so  
You know I love you so_

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever had the fortune to lay his eyes on, not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. She was the most forgiving person he knew. The years of verbal abuse he had put her through; the years of emotional pain he had caused her were all forgiven. She had put them all behind them. He didn't deserve her, but she was the best thing to ever happen to him. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone.

_I swam across,__  
I jumped across for you,  
Oh what a thing to do.  
Cos you were all "Yellow",  
I drew a line,  
I drew a line for you,  
Oh what a thing to do,  
And it was all "Yellow."_

He had crossed lines he had told himself he would never cross for woman in order to be with her. He had given up the drugs that had kept his pain at a minimum to prove to her that he deserved a chance. He would do whatever it took to be with her; he _had_done whatever he had needed to so that they could be happy together.

_Look at the stars,__  
Look how they shine for you,  
And all the things that you do._

The stars in his universe shown only for Cuddy. They would always shine for her and the infinite list of things she had done for him, and would definitely do for him in the future. It was all for her.

"All this time I was waiting for something… Something to make give me a modicum of happiness, something to take me out of my misery… All this time I was waiting for you." He whispered for only her to hear before looking down at her.

"I never thought I would have this day… I spent years waiting for the perfect man…But perfect men don't exist. We are all imperfect, and what I was waiting for was standing beside me all along." She replied caressing his cheek.

"Well more like standing behind you and staring at your ass…"

He watched a smile spread across her face before leaning down and pressing his lips against hers.

* * *

It was half past three when they had finally left everyone at the reception. Part of the package they had paid for included a complimentary room for the newlywed couple. She leaned against the wall as House slid the key card through the slot.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked stopping her as she made to enter the room.  
"Walking into our hotel room?" She replied, wondering why he had asked such a ridiculous quested.  
"No you're not."  
"House, come on let me in." She wrapped her arms around his neck and put on her most seductive tone of voice.  
"No." He replied, not moving from his blockade of the door.  
"Why not!"  
"Because," She let out a squeak when she felt him scoop her into his arms. "The groom is supposed to carry the bride over the threshold." He smirked as he entered the room and shut the door behind him.  
"You don't have to do this. Your leg –"  
"Is fine." He replied, laying her down on the circular bed located in the center of the room.

She couldn't stop the small stream of tears that his gesture had brought on. It amazed her how he could try so hard just to bring her happiness, just to make sure her wedding day was perfect.

"It's no big deal Cuddles, stop crying."

"Shut up." She replied smacking him lightly as he sat beside her.

"You're such an abusive_ wife_." He emphasized as a smirk grew across his face.

She sat up on her knees and turned to face him, her arms wrapping against his neck.

"I love you." She responded before leaning forward to kiss him.

Their lips met and the never ending spark between them was lit to life. She could feel the arousal in the pit of her stomach begin to bubble as their tongues clashed, his teeth grazing her bottom lip. Her hands moved from his neck to his chest, her fingers unbuttoning his shirt before pushing it off along with his tux.

She made way to kiss his neck, but he stopped her, flipping her onto her back and slipping a hand behind her to unzip her dress. She slipped out of it, and she let out a soft moan as his cool lips made contact with the hollow of her throat. She moved her hands to his pants, unzipping them and grazing him through the fabric of his boxers. He pulled his pants off before pulling her against him, their lips meeting once more. The passion behind their actions was what kept their relationship alive.

"Wait." She said pulling away. She unclasped her bra, letting out a soft chuckle as House's eyes widened at the fact that it was one of the bras that unclasped at the front. "There." She replied, pulling him to her, her breasts pressed firmly against his chest.

She giggled when she felt his hands slip beneath her and cup her ass as she ran her foot along his calf. He pulled her thong down to her knees before pulling off his own boxers. Cuddy bit her lip as she felt his cock tease her entrance before letting out a sharp gasp when he thrust into her.

She moaned softly as he thrust himself deeper into her, her nails running along his back. She brought her lips to his neck, kissing a trail along it before reaching his face and his continuing along his jaw. She moved a hand up to his cheek and caressed it as he hovered above her.

She could feel herself come closer to the edge as he picked up pace, her lower region clenching as she felt herself go over the edge. She moaned out his name as their hands intertwined and she couldn't help but smile as he kissed her left ring finger.

* * *

House brushed his lips over Cuddy's ring finger as she rode out the rest of her climax. He could feel himself close as her walls clenched around his member, the feeling causing him to increase his pace as her nails dug into his shoulder blades.

His lips found hers and she gnawed hungrily at his lower lip, a desperate whimper escaping her as she did so. The sounds of pleasure he was causing her to make brought him over the edge. The fact that he could make her express herself in such a way was always what made him reach his edge.

He groaned her name out before collapsing on top of her. After several seconds he flipped onto his back and pulled her up against him, holding her to himself as close as possible.

Her cheeks were flushed and she was wearing a blissful smile as she looked down at him. He brought a hand to her face and held it there as she leaned into his touch.

No matter what happened to him in life, he knew that he would always have her.


	39. The Honeymooners : Part I

_I'm so sorry for the delay. I promise that I won't go so long without updating again. It's been almost two months! I do have valid reasons though, I was away at competition for three days after my last update, and since then it's been non stop rehearsals for our musical which opens on Thursday, and apart from rehearsals there have been publicity things, costume things, technical things, just A LOT of time consuming real life crap that I've had to deal with that has kept me from writing... That and writer's block. I finally got some free time to myself this weekend to write this up, I'm sorry it's so short, but it's the best I could do guys. I really am sorry and I just feel TERRIBLE for going so long without an update. Please don't hate me! Here it is, I hope you enjoy it! _

* * *

Lisa Cuddy could not contain the smile that had instantaneously spread across her face the moment she had awoken. The previous night was quite possibly the best of her life. She had married the love of her life and nothing could bring her down from her high.

She rolled onto her side, propping herself up with one hand and resting the other on House's chest. She could see that it was a little past eleven am. She rubbed her hand over his chest before leaning forward and kissing the center of his chest. She felt him snake his hand around her waist as he growled, burying his face into her neck.

"Morning _Mrs. House._" He said as he pulled her on top of him.

She couldn't help but feel elated at hearing those words leave his mouth. She was Mrs. House now. She was his wife, and she hoped that it would stay that way.

"Hi." She replied running her hand along his bicep, his hand making small circles against the small of her back.

"Hi."

She smiled at how ridiculously cliché they were being; newlyweds smiling goofily at one another the morning after their wedding night.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked, resting her head against his chest, feeling his heart beat as she did so.

"I don't know, don't care. Call room service. We've got to be back in Princeton by three so we don't miss our flight."

"What time is our flight?" She had no idea where they were going; House had refused to inform her of any of their honeymoon travel plans.

"Seven."

"Well," She said lifting her head up and looking at the digital clock on their bedside. "It's half past eleven. So, we should be checked out by one…"

"Right, so go on Cuddles, order us up something to eat and in the meanwhile we can pack up whatever we need to pack."

She felt him slap her ass and couldn't help but shake her head as she slid off of him and pulled the phone towards her.

It had taken a little over a half hour for room service to arrive and in the downtime they had they managed to completely pack their belongs and change. Cuddy smiled as they sat across from one another on the balcony, a light summer breeze blowing while they enjoyed their breakfast.

She reached her hand across the table and covered House's hand with her own, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. She studied him curiously, surprised that after all these years she still found herself entranced by the look that came over his features when he was lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?" She asked curiously.

"Are you happy?" He asked looking at her with an unexplainable intensity in his eyes.

"Am I happy? What kind of question is that?" She asked skeptically in response. The fact that he could ask her something as ridiculous as that after the previous day was astonishing to her.

"Of course I'm happy House. We just got married last night. I've never been happier." She sincerely replied as she reached across the table and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Even if deep down I'm still the same miserable bastard I've always been?"

"Yes. I told you last night, you make me the happiest I've ever been, even if sometimes we're at each other's throats."

"Good. That's all I want, for you to be happy."

"As long as we're together, I'll be happy." She leaned forward and softly kissed him before realizing the time.

"It's time for us to check out."

* * *

The drive back to Princeton had been an tedious deed, and House was more than delighted when he pulled up to the driveway of their home at four pm. They had left Atlantic City at one like they had planned, but an accident on the highway had delayed their voyage by an hour.

"When are you going to tell me where we're going for our honeymoon?" Cuddy asked as he unlocked the door to the house, dragging their small luggage inside.

"When we get to the airport." He replied simply. He had no intention of letting her know until the last moment in hopes that her reaction would be enough to cause people to stare. "Go grab the bags out of our room and put them by the door."

"Well if you had me pack a bikini, I'm assuming we're going somewhere tropical…" She replied, setting her purse down on the couch as he plopped down onto it.

"Nope." He called after her as he watched her walk down the hallway towards their bedroom, ogling at her back side .

"Florida?" She said as she rolled her suitcase towards the door.

"No." He replied standing and making his way into the room to retrieve his own suitcase. She stopped him halfway and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"If you tell me, I'll reward you…" She replied, her voice lace with lust as she ran hand along his neck.

"You'll reward me once we get there. Or if I'm lucky, on the plane." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as she rolled her eyes in annoyance before walking away.

"You can't always get what you want!" He called after her before turning back towards his original direction.

An hour and a half later House chuckled to himself as a very irritate Cuddy continued to question him about where they were going. While he had been checking them in along with their baggage he had made sure that she was preoccupied with something else to ensure that she would not find out where they were going before it was intended for her to find out.

"Can you just tell me already for god's sake?" She huffed as she pulled her shoes back on after they had gone through security.

"Cuddy, the gate is five minutes away, you'll see soon enough."

"God you're so irritating sometimes."

"You won't be saying that when you find out where we're going."

Five minutes later they were approaching their gate, and he momentarily pulled her aside.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he covered her eyes with his hands.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Start walking, I'll direct you in the right direction."

"Seriously House?"

"Just shut up and do it."

He heard her sigh before taking a step forward. He led her to gate 17, American Airlines flight 521 to London and uncovered her eyes before stepping in front of her.

He heard the small gasp she made as she read the information on the board behind the attendant's desk and watched as her eyes lit up before turned towards him.

"We're going to Europe!" She asked and he couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm at knowing where their destination was.

"Yupp. You know, London… Paris… Then we'll be back here."

"Wait, we're going to Paris as well? House! I can't believe you did this…"

"This is why I let you do all the wedding planning, I told you that you would love where we were going for our honeymoon. This is going to make all the stress I caused you by not cooperating worth it, don't you think?"

"I think so." She replied pulling him in for a small but slightly heated kiss. "Thank you." She replied as she broke away from him.

"You're welcome." He replied wrapping his arms around her waist.

He looked at his watch, it was half past two in the morning. They had been in the air for seven and a half hours. There was only half an hour remaining of their flight. He wrapped his arm around Cuddy, whom had fallen asleep against him, her head resting against his shoulder and her feet pulled up onto the spacious first class seat. He couldn't help but recall their conversation earlier in the day when he had asked her if she was happy. Although he knew she had said yes, he couldn't help the feeling in his chest that that would soon change and he hoped for the sake of everything that he held dear to his three times too small heart, that they stay the same.

* * *

"Cuddy…"

"Hmm?" She mumbled as she buried herself closer against House's side. She was so tired from their day and she had known that the second their flight took off she would have been out cold for the entire time.

"We just landed. Almost time to get off the plane."

"Ugh."

"You can sleep in an hour when we get to the hotel."

She hesitantly sat up and running a hand over her face and unbuckling the seat belt. She stood, letting out a yawn as she extended her hands over her head to stretch, smiling to herself when she felt House pull down her shirt as it rose with her motions.

"Thanks." She replied before reaching into the overhead compartment to retrieve their small carry-on bags.

An hour and a half later they had finally checked into their hotel. She couldn't help but gasp as she entered their room at the Savoy, the elegance of the suite's sitting room catching her eye. The plush wingback chairs were light shade of lavender, along with the soft carpet covering the room. She walked into the bedroom, amazed by the view of the Thames river from their window, the London Eye directly in their line of sight.

"God, this is amazing…" Cuddy said breathlessly as she turned to face House, who was leaning against the threshold watching her.

"Why thank you." He replied, as he watched her approach him.

"No, thank you… I can't believe you did this." She replied as she reached him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a gentle and passionate kiss.

She let out a moan as his lips traveled down to her throat and his hands made their way towards her hips, pulling her against him. She could feel him harden against her as her hands moved into his hair, holding him against her neck as he continued to kiss her throat. She pulled his face back towards hers, their tongues and teeth clashing as they desperately pulled each other closer. House's hands slid under her shirt and she shivered at the contact as he ran his hands along her sides before pulling it over her head, quickly followed by his own. He pulled her against him and she shuddered at the sensation of his body against hers, flesh against flesh, sharing the heat of the moment as they made their way towards the bed. She slipped her bra off as he gently pushed her onto the bed before she felt his hands at her hips and pulling her jeans around her knees. Before she knew it she let out a gasp as she felt his mouth against her heat, the unexpected sensation causing her to moan in pure shock. She relaxed a bit, letting her head fall back against the plush pillows as he tasted her, his tongue working in ways to slowly but surely drive her wild. She could feel her inner muscles begin to clench and let out another gasp as she felt his fingers enter her as he ran his tongue against her throbbing clit.

"_Fuckkkkkkkkkkk_." She moaned as she felt her muscles tighten in anticipation of her climax. She couldn't help but pant as he continued to suck and lick in all the right places, his fingers adding just the right amount of pressure and speed to have her quivering beneath his touch. She moved her hands into his hair and held him against her as she let out several frantic whimpers before reaching her peak.

"_Oh god." _ She gasped as she felt her inner muscles clamp down around his fingers as she came. Her back arched and her nails dug into the comforter as she rode out the remainder of her orgasm, panting heavily as House moved up towards her, positioning himself between her legs.

"Are you ready to do that for me again?" He growled before nipping at her neck. She could already feel the arousal begin to bubble within her again as she pulled his face towards her own.

"You bet." She purred before bringing him in for a kiss laced with desire and lust.

* * *

"_Oh god, harder!" _ She cried as he picked up his pace, his hands cupping her ass as he ran his mouth along the base of her neck. He pulled away from her neck and looked down at her and smirked at the fact that he could make, Cuddy of all people beg for more. He loved the current euphoric expression on her face. Her head was tilted back against the pillows, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly agape as she let out a soft whimper with each of his movements. He brought his lips down to hers and their teeth clashed as he pulled her lower lip into his mouth and biting it, her fingers digging into the skin of his back. He felt her quiver beneath him as she arched into him, finally reaching her peak. He could feel the heat as her inner muscles pulsated against his cock, the tightening of her walls a delicious sensation.

"_Goddamn it Cuddy." _He groaned as he came inside of her, pulling her closer against him in order to achieve deeper penetration.

"Ugh, that feels great." She murmured as they simultaneously rode out their orgasms.

House pulled out of her before dropping down next to her. He looked over at her, not at all surprised to find her smiling as she caught her breath.

"Holy crap, was that one great fuck or was it just me?" She asked rolling onto her side to face him, placing her hand against his chest.

"Well considering I was the one to do most of the work, you know, making you come twice and all… I would consider it in the top 100." He teased as she playfully smacked him across the chest.

"Top 100, huh? Guess I'll have to fix that…"

He let out a low chuckle as he felt her hand make contact with his cock, knowing that this would definitely end up being number one.

* * *

_I hope the smut made up for the delay in an update... On a more depressing note, I'm not at all excited for tonight's episode. What if Wilson dies! Okay nevermind, forget I mentioned it... I'll try to update again soon, I PROMISE that it'll be in less than a month. I stop being busy on the 12th, so from then on all my free time will be dedicated to writing! Don't forget to leave a review! _


	40. The Honeymooners : Part II

_So I honestly have spent the last few days writing as much as possible because it's almost been another month since I updated. I've just been so busy with school, but there are only 9 days left, so bear with me please. Updates will come a lot sooner once I'm able to stay up all night writing. Anyway, I want to say a thank you to all of you who've stuck around since the beginning, how you've put up with me, I don't know, but thank you. Your reviews mean the world to me and keep me going. Another thing, I've finally reached over 1000 reviews, and I was so happy I basically cried. Anyway, enough about how pathetic I am. There's the next chapter. It has a bit of **everything**, and it' lengthy. I know you'll probably have a lot to say by the end of it, so please don't forget to drop your thoughts off on your way out. ;) Enjoy!_

* * *

"It's seven o'clock at night, and we just woke up…"

"Well considering the fact that we came from a completely different time zone Cuddles, things this tend to happen. We did get check in at around ten, had mind blowing sex for two hours and then fell asleep. So seven hours is pretty decent."

House smirked as Cuddy rolled her eyes before rolling away from him. He reached out and pulled her back against his chest, pressing his lips against her shoulder blade.

"What are you doing?" She asked turning to face him.

"What does it feel like I'm doing?"

"It feels like you're slobbering all over my back." She replied, grimacing as she wiped at the spot where he had just kissed her. House smirked as he saw her wipe her hand against the sheets in disgust.

"So what do you want to do Cuddles? We can go down to the hotel lounge and grab a bite to eat and then explore downtown London, or we can stay here in bed, naked, order room service and then attempt to straighten out our sleeping schedule."

"As much as I would love to lie around in bed, I prefer the second option. It'll be nice to go out and see the unknown. That is the point of us being here no? So come on, let's go get ready."

He watched as she stood from beside him, her still naked form glorified in the lighting as she stretched. How he could have ever ended up with someone like her he would never know, but he was sure as hell grateful to whatever power made it possible for them to find a way back to one another after their break up.

"What are you looking at?" Cuddy asked as she turned, noting that he was staring at her with a far off look.

"Your ass. What else would I be looking at? It's so huge it takes up my entire line of sight." House teased, shaking off his reverie as he watched her strut towards the bathroom, knowing that the extra swing in her hips was meant for him and him alone.

* * *

They had a surprisingly romantic dinner in a corner of the hotel's lounge before heading out for a night on the town. Their first stop of the night was the Sherlock Holmes Museum. She listened intently as House went on about the fictional detective almost in an admirable fashion. It never ceased to amaze her how much pure intellect was contained in his brilliant mind. It was as though his brain was an encyclopedia of endless knowledge just waiting to be shared. She honestly enjoyed listening to him talk about the little things he loved, no matter how many times she had heard him talk about it.

"I should probably just refer to you as Irene Adler from now on." She heard him say as she looked up at him from an array of mementos arranged upon Sherlock's mantelpiece.

"And why is that?" She asked, curiously raising an eyebrow.

"Well, because I'm obviously Holmes, Wilson is obviously Watson, and that leaves you my lady love. Which seeing as you are my woman, and Irene was '_the _Woman' to Sherlock, that my dear, makes you Irene by default."

"Objectifying me in order to compare yourself to one of your literary icons. Hm, how romantic." She teased.

"Oh come on now, you know me better than that. I would _never _objectify you." He replied in an equally teasing tone.

When they had left the museum they had walked along Parliament Square, the lights of London at night leaving her dazzled and grateful that House had brought her here for their honeymoon. One night in and she already knew that their two weeks in London would be worthwhile. It only made her wonder what else lay ahead for them during the days to come.

* * *

House watched, quite amused as Cuddy allowed the Zookeeper to place the snake onto her shoulders. It was a boa constrictor, much like the one used throughout the _Harry Potter_ films. He was surprised that unlike those before her, Cuddy remained cool, calm and collected as the snake was placed upon her shoulders. He watched as the Zookeeper placed the reptile's head in her hand and she smiled. It amazed him at how much a simple smile from her could cause his three times too small heart to swell with adoration for her.

"You're quite the snake charmer." He winked suggestively as she rejoined him a few moments later.

"What can I say? The big ones love me." She replied as they walked along one of the many trails leading to different animal exhibits.

"How come you didn't freak out like everyone else?" He asked, honestly curious as to how a woman who was afraid of spiders remain unfathomed as a snake was wrapped around her shoulders.

"I used to volunteer at the animal shelter where I grew up. Once in a blue moon we would have someone bring in a snake they could no longer take care of. Since I would help clean changes and feed them they taught me how to hold them properly. They're actually relatively calm animals. They don't bite you unless they feel you are a threat to them, and really, if you approach a snake and you're scared out of your wits to be around it, just like any other animal it can sense your discomfort and will most likely bite you."

He stood, dumbfounded at the fact that he had never bothered to ask something a simple as what she had done in her free time during high school. It had never crossed his mind to ask, but now he wondered how many more little known facts about her he was missing out on.

"Wow. That's actually pretty cool. I didn't know you knew anything about animals, never expected you to know anything about snakes."

"Well you never asked… I do know things other than medicine you know."

"Know anything else about any of the animals here?"

"Oh please, as if you want to hear me go on and on about the different animals here."

"Actually, I do." He replied, genuinely meaning it. The fact that she had more knowledge about the animals held within the zoo interested him. It was funny that he had known her for so long, been with her for so long and had actually married her without knowing her keen knowledge of wild life.

"Seriously?" She asked surprised, her eyes lighting up as she spoke.

"Seriously." He nodded.

* * *

It left her utterly amazed at how much attention House had been giving her throughout the day. The fact that he had actually wanted to listen to her go on and on about the little things she knew about some of the animals at the Zoo when he probably already knew those things made her feel great.

"Cuddles, I think that Giraffe is checking you out." House commented as they neared the part of the Zoo where visitors could interact with some of the less dangerous animals.

"Are you jealous?" She teased as she left his side and approached the animal, who had craned its neck in order to watch her.

"Hey there big fella…" Cuddy cooed as she reached out her hand for the animal to sniff. She let out a soft giggle as it nudged her hand before beginning to stroke its head.

"Jealous of an animal? Ha, you're funny. Now look here and say 'cheese'." He replied, already pointing the camera in her direction.

"Cheese." She said as she kept her attention on the animal in front of her. She saw the flash of light through her peripheral before turning back to House. "You're right, you've no reason to be jealous, you're both animals, so you're on the same level. You've got the upper hand because you have opposable thumbs."

"And because I can do this."

She smiled as he grabbed her hips and pulled her against him, his lip pressing against hers in a show of affection.

"That too." She replied lovingly as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Public displays of affection between the two were rare, so rare that when they did happen they were made to last as long as possible. They didn't care who saw them, they had nothing to hide. They were two people who loved one another with every fiber of their being, and couldn't care less if the entire world saw them.

* * *

"Cuddy, I can't believe you bought so much crap to take back with you. You do know we still have Paris to go to right? If you bought this much stuff here, I can't imagine the amount of things you'll buy there…" House said as he set down several of Cuddy's shopping bags before plopping down onto the couch in the sitting area.

"Well excuse me for wanting something to remember this trip by! Besides, this isn't all for me. I do have a mother, sister, nephews, and daughter to bring things back for. Let's not forget Wilson and his girlfriend as well. This is a perfect amount of things to bring back. Who knows when we'll be back?"

He rolled his eyes. Women always over did it when it came to shopping in foreign countries. It was like it was hardwired into their systems to buy everything they could get their hands on while they had the chance because they didn't know when they would have the chance again.

"Of course it is."

"Shut up House." She replied shaking her head.

"Hey, can you pass me the bottle of ibuprofen?" He asked as he rubbed at his thigh. It had been acting up for majority of the day and he hadn't had any pills on him to somewhat help ease the pain. He hadn't wanted to say anything in fear of ruining her little shopping trip or having her send him off back the hotel to rest his leg. He didn't want her wandering around London alone. Although they had been there for almost two weeks it was still unfamiliar territory and he wanted to make sure she was safe.

"Your leg acting up?" She asked, immediately showing her concern as she passed him two pills and a bottle of water.

"It's nothing." He replied downing the two pills with a mouthful of water.

"Here, let me do it." She sat down beside him and placed her hand onto his sore thigh.

"It's fine Cuddy. You don't have to do this."

"I _want_ to." She replied, sincerity clear in both her tone of voice and her expression. He sat back as she began to massage his mangled thigh, kneading the heal of her hand against the part that caused him the most irritation. He groaned at the feeling of the remaining muscle losing its tenseness.

"Oh god, did I hurt you?" She asked pulling away apologetically.

"No, you didn't. It feels good."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

She continued to massage his leg and he made a mental note to himself to let her do it more often because it felt great as she rubbed against his scar. When she finished minutes later he pulled her into his lap, sitting her onto his left leg and wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you." He murmured into her neck.

"You're welcome." She replied running her hands through his hair.

* * *

They arrived in Paris on May 31st. The flight from London had lasted a little over an hour and a half. They were staying at the Regina, a well –known hotel located across from _Rue de Rivoli_, one of Paris's most famous streets filled with various stores. Its location was convenient, seeing as Cuddy had done so much shopping in England House had no doubt that she would definitely spent a few hours there. Apart from shopping it was also located across the _Tuileries Garden _and _Le __Musée du Louvre_, two places worth seeing while in the city.

He had made sure to book the Eiffel Tower suite, and approved of his decision once he and Cuddy entered the room. The biggest suite in the hotel, its living room had a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower along with the _Tuileries Garden_. He watched as Cuddy walked throughout the suite, feeling the slightest tug of a smile on his lips as he noted the excited spark in her eyes. It made him feel good to know that putting this trip together had brought her so much happiness so far.

"House, come look at this bedroom… It's gorgeous…" Cuddy called from the master bedroom.

House dropped his backpack onto one of the chairs before limping into the bedroom.

He had to admit that the room was pretty impressive. Like the rest of the suite, it's floor was plush red carpeting. There was a coffee table located in the center of the room with two chairs. In one corner was a desk, and across from the king size bed there was a large flat screen television. The bed was boxed in, three walls surrounding every side but the front. There gold drapes in front of the enormous bed for extra privacy. Located to the left of the bed in its section of the room was a mini fridge, with a complementary bottle of sparkling wine waiting for them.

House grabbed the ice bucket containing the wine and two glasses before handing one of them to Cuddy.

"Not too shabby." He commented as he popped the cork, pouring the light yellow liquid into her glass before his own.

"Definitely. It'll be fun to christen this room…" She winked as she took a sip of her wine.

House cocked an eyebrow at her friskiness. Normally it was himself suggesting that they christen a room.

"Wow, it's true when they say married couples start to act like one another. You suggesting that we christen a room before I have to chance to bring it up? I must be dreaming…"

"If you'd rather not do it tonight…" She shrugged nonchalantly before he cut her off.

"I never said that. Just stating my surprise, that's all. Anyway, why are we still talking? Let's get raunchy my lovely lady."

"If you say so…"

Before he knew it she had settled herself in his lap, mindful of his bad leg. She pulled his face against hers and their lips met, sending a shiver down his spine. He slipped his hands under her shirt and onto her hips, holding her there as her lips wandered his neck. He could feel the blood rush south as his cock began to twitch beneath his pants.

He hated how easily she turned him on; how she had to do so little for his erection to begin to grow. She slipped her hands underneath his t-shirt, gently running her nails across his skin. He pulled it off before he could stop himself causing Cuddy to smirk, her smoky eyes burning with desire. He trailed his fingers along her sides before cupping her breast through the fabric of her bra, hearing a sharp intake of breath as he squeezed. He slipped his hand underneath, running the pad of his thumb against her already hard nipple. He took his other hand and slid her shirt upwards, bunching it over her breasts. She removed it, just as he unhooked her bra. He smirked as he felt her shudder when his mouth made contact with her skin. He ran his tongue along the areas along her nipple, causing her to let out a soft moan of approval. He teased her until he knew she was aching with anticipation before taking it into his mouth and sucking. He heard her moan as he ran his tongue against her. He felt her hand make its way to the back of his neck, her fingers running through his hair. She pulled his face towards his before engulfing his lips in a fiery kiss, her teeth pulling against his lower lip and her hands working their way down to his zipper.

House groaned when she pressed her hand against his throbbing cock. He couldn't help but thrust his hips upwards as she slipped her hands into his boxers, running her nails against his length. He could feel the shockwaves run through him as she ran her thumb over his sensitive tip, already covered in pre-cum. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes as she freed him from his boxers, jerking him in a painfully slow manner. He knew it was revenge for his teasing earlier and he hated to admit that pay back was a bitch. He was so lost in his arousal that he didn't feel when she slipped off of his lap. He groaned loudly when he felt her wrap her lips around his tip before her tongue circled it. His head tilted back once more as she took him fully into her mouth, the feeling sending deep pulsations of pleasure to his cock. Instinctively he moved a hand into her hair as she bobbed her head back and forth. He could feel himself come close to the edge stopped her. He wanted to come inside of her. He easily rid her of her pants and thong before directing her towards the bed. He licked his lips as she positioned herself above him, the beauty of her body in complete display for his, and his eyes only. They groaned simultaneously as she slid onto him, his hips automatically bucking upwards, causing him to bury himself deeper within her. Cuddy let out a shuddering whimper as he thrust into her before leaning forward to capture his lips with her own. He grabbed at her hips as she rode him, the sight of her pleasure bringing him all the more pleasure. He couldn't deny how lucky he was to call her his wife when he looked at her expression of pure ecstasy, her eyes barely opened and her lips parted slightly. He took this as the perfect timing to roll them over. He passionately nipped and sucked at her neck, increasing his pace with each of her desperate moans. He kissed her and it was full of meaning. It was as if that kiss was his life line, the thing that kept him alive. Cuddy was his life line; after so much time he realized that what he needed was her in his life to keep him going, to keep him alive. He took her hand in his as their foreheads met and she arched into him, both reaching their peak and becoming one in the exact second.

When they were finished no words were exchanged. They simply lay in bed together side by side, sleepy with post coital bliss. He reached out and cupped her cheek with his right hand, gently making circles with his thumb as she leaned into his touch.

"I love you." He murmured almost inaudibly.

He found it ridiculous how vulnerable it _still_ made him to utter those three simple words to her, even after everything. It was as if he would never stop believing that at some point, it would fall apart, or something would be thrown at them to rip it all away. It was as if he had a fear of her suddenly disappearing, and his one reason to go on would be gone.

He watched as Cuddy took his hand and pressed it against her lips, her own silent declaration of love. They fell asleep soon after, two lovers embraced without a worry or care in the world.

* * *

"Do we really have to do this?" Cuddy sighed, her stomach tightening as she looked up. They were currently standing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and House was determined to have her go up to the top with him. She was terrified of extreme heights, and standing at the top of a structure that was over a thousand feet was obviously something that she was not comfortable with doing.

"Yes. You're fine when you're on a plane, but you can't even think about taking an elevator to the top of France's greatest landmark without hesitating and suddenly coming down with a case of Acrophobia. Come on babe, you only live once."

She raised her eyebrow at the term of endearment, something that _rarely _used between the two.

"First of all, since when do you call me babe? Second of all, the occasion has never occurred where we are somewhere that involves heights. Planes are a _completely_ different story; it's easier for me to forget that I'm on a plane than it is to forget I'm at the top of what is basically a skyscraper."

"We're married now, I should be able to call you whatever I want, would you prefer I call you bitchtits like I do when you're having fits over nothing like the one you're having now?"

"I'm not having a fit! I just don't want to go up there, I'm not comfortable with the height."

"Come on, you have nothing to worry about. I'll be up there with you. Hell there'll be other people around. You don't know if you're ever going to get a chance to look out at the city from such a height at this time of night. "

She let out a sigh, frustrated at how persistent he was. He obviously had no intention stopping. She took a deep breath, surrendering to his wishes.

"Come on." She mumbled defeated, feeling him grip her small hand within his own as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"You have nothing to worry about Cuddy. It'll be fine."

"It better be." She grumbled as they stepped into the elevator.

The moment the elevator shifted, she felt her chest tighten and took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She shut her eyes as she leaned against House's side, tightening her grip on his hand. The elevator came to a stop at the top and she opened her eyes before hesitantly stepping out of it with him.

She remained close to him as she possibly could while they explored the top of the tower.

"You okay?" House asked reassuringly in her ear.

She nodded before focusing on the view of the city, beauty of it being the lights below them. They could see the _Tuileries Garden _and the fountains in front of the tower. It was truly breathtaking. She relaxed a bit, making to not look directly at the ground below them.

"Wasn't that bad was it?" House asked later on as they walked along the Champs- Elysees.

"At first it was, but afterwards it was less…"

"Think you'll ever go up that high again?"

"Probably not."

* * *

"Seriously Cuddy? Love Lock Bridge?"

"You made me go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower with you the other day, now you're going to do this with me. I don't care if you think it's girly or too romantic for such a _manly_ person as yourself to do, but you're doing it with me."

He rolled his eyes as she dropped his hand and pulled out a gold padlock. He was surprised to find that inscribed on the front of the lock where their names, along with their anniversary. He watched as she kissed it before handing it off to him.

"Kiss it."

"No."

"_Kiss it." _She repeated, using the voice of authority she used on him at work.

"_No._" He replied as he took a step towards her.

"Kiss it or I'll press it against your lips, and probably accidentally hit you in the teeth because I pressed it against your face a _little_ too hard, and you'll obviously be pissed and in pain, which will lead you to say or do something stupid, which will end with us in a fight. Now do you really want us to get into a fight when we only have six days left here? I highly doubt it. _Now kiss the fucking lock._"

He took the lock from her if not from the complete amusement from her swearing, something she only did while in bed or trying to get a point across when she was extremely frustrated. He pressed his lips against it, watching as her demeanor changed, and she was suddenly smiling.

"Now that wasn't that hard was it?" She said in a sickeningly sweet voice as he handed her the lock back and slipped it's key in, unlocking it. She slipped her hand into his, and he held it loosely within his own as she slipped the lock through one of the chain links on the fence.

"On the count of three we close the lock alright?"

He nodded, not wanting to set her off again. He did after all owe his cooperation to her after she had cooperated so well when he had forced her to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower with him.

"One…Two…Three."

Simultaneously they wrapped pushed the lock shut.

"So…now what?" He asked as they awkwardly stood there.

"Let's get something to eat?"

"That works."

They made their way towards one of the small cafes near their hotel, opting to sit inside as it was extremely hot and humid outside, which had Cuddy uncharacteristically complaining about the heat. He noted her discomfort as she sat across from him, her rolling her shoulders back and letting out a small groan of pain.

"You okay Cuddles?" He asked, immediately tense at the sight of her in pain.

"I'm fine… Just a little muscle spasm…" She replied, attempting to mask her pain and obviously failing.

"Come on. Let's go back to the hotel…"

"House, I'm f –" She started before biting down on her lip as she reached a hand onto her back, rubbing the affected area.

"You're not fine. Come on, let's go so you can lay down or soak in the bathtub…"

He waited for her to protest, and when she didn't he knew that_ something_ was wrong.

* * *

"I think we should go home early." House said as he helped her into the stifling water of the bathtub.

"House, I'm fine, there's no need for us to leave early." She said firmly, the water helping soothe some of the pain in her lower back, but not all of it.

"Cuddy, you're _not_ fine. This back pain of yours has been going on too long for you to go with it unchecked. We need to go home so we can get you checked out."

"_No._ We still have a week left. I don't want to ruin our honeymoon by having to go home before we need to."

"We've been away for three weeks. Leaving a week early won't kill us."

"Your birthday is in a few days, I wanted to –"

"Who cares about my birthday right now? I have one every year, it's not that important."

"But –"

"No. This isn't going to turn into an argument. Your health is more important than anything else. We're going home as soon as possible, and that's final." He growled before limping out of the room.

She let out a frustrated sigh, angered by the fact that he would just decide that they were going home without her input. She knew he was worried about her, but there was no need to go as far as that. Getting herself checked out could wait. There was nothing wrong with her and she was sure of it. Back pains came with age, and she knew better than to think anything other than that. There was no reason to have such an overreaction.

She remained in the shower until the water was cold before pulling herself out and wrapping herself in a robe before making her way into the bedroom. She walked over to the dresser and pulled out a black thong and her pajamas, slipping them off before sliding into bed, not even bothering to look at him seated in one of the chairs at the front of the room. She didn't care if it wasn't later than three in the afternoon, she was going to sleep.

"Flight leaves Sunday at two am. If you're feeling better you can get your gift shopping done before we pack. We're leaving the hotel around nine, so you have all day."

"Sounds great." She muttered sarcastically before attempting to fall asleep. After several minutes, she gave up and reached for the bottle of Tylenol on the night stand. Her head had started to hurt and the pain in her lower back had returned. She swallowed the two pills with a mouthful of water before the effect set in, letting her drift off into sleep.

* * *

_Share your thoughts/rage/theories in your review. ;)_


	41. The First Cut

_Oh look, an update! And you haven't even had to wait a week! You should be extra generous and all leave reviews for me! Especially because it's almost 4am! Anyway, I'll try to see if I can get inspiration for the next chapter and see if I update again before too long. Reviews would be nice enough inspiration. Oh, and I don't know when I'll be updating "Nobody Wants to be Lonely" because things are really going to pick up in this story. Also, thank you for all of you who've reviewed the last chapter. I haven't had the time to reply to them, but they mean alot. I'm glad you guys are still enjoying this story. I'll shut up now and let you read._

* * *

It took her over an hour to repack her belongings the following morning. She placed her suitcases by the door before grabbing her purse and leaving.

She needed some time alone to forget the previous night. There was no reason for them to have handled the situation the way they did. Looking back there had been no need for an argument. He was right. He was _always _right. She needed to get herself checked out, but she couldn't see why it couldn't wait another week. There was no way that she would be worse when they were originally supposed to be back.

They had been having such a good time together, just the two of them and no one else, without a worry in the world about anything, no work to stress them out, nothing that would normally trouble them during their everyday lives. The post wedding bliss had been too good to be true. She should have expected something to go wrong sooner or later. They had gone so long without any problem, no unnecessary drama going on around them. A falling out was bound to have happened eventually. Too bad it had happened during their honeymoon.

She let out a sad sigh before turning back to towards the hotel, the idea of spending the remainder of the time she had left in the city shopping suddenly unappealing.

* * *

He understood why she was upset. He truly did, but just because he understood it did _not _mean he had to agree with her reasoning. They would be able to return to Paris another time, _anytime _they wanted. Leaving early was not as big of a deal as Cuddy was making it out to be. Her health and making sure she was okay was _much_ more important than staying for another few days. They had no idea what could happen between then and now. There was no way in hell he would allow her to be treated in France, when they had the most capable doctors waiting from them in Princeton. He wanted the best of the best to be treating her, not doctors in a foreign country whose process he was not familiar with.

He packed his things, if it what he did could be referred to as packing. In his annoyance he had just flung his clothes into his suitcase, obviously not giving a damn if they wrinkled. After he finished, he dragged his suitcases over to the door, leaving them beside Cuddy's.

He limped back into the sitting room, dropping down in one of the chairs and flipping on the television, settling on a dubbed episode of _Grey's Anatomy_. He understood majority of it, seeing as he had spent several months in France in his earlier years. It wasn't long before he heard the beep of the door as it opened.

"You're back soon." He said as he turned to look at her.  
"I changed my mind. I can buy souvenirs at the airport." She replied dropping down onto the bed.  
"It's only two. We still have eight hours left. Are you sure you want to spend them locked up in here?"  
"Why does it matter House? I'm tired. I don't want to spend the day in the heat. I'm a grown woman, I know what I want to do, and what I want to do is stay in the room away from the damn heat. Is that too much to ask?" She snapped, pulling off her shoes.

House took a deep breath, ignoring her unnecessary outburst, knowing that if he let her get to him it would only lead to making the situation worse. Instead of replying, he turned his attention back towards the television.

* * *

They checked out of the hotel at ten. Cuddy sighed as they reached the airport an hour later, the entirety of the ride spent in silence. Neither had spoken a word to the other. She shouldn't have snapped at him, it only made things worse. She stood awkwardly beside him as the cab driver pulled their luggage from the trunk. House paid the cabbie and they made their way towards the check in areas.

When they had checking in at one of the outside counters and their luggage had been taken care of, they walked through the automatic doors and into the airport. It was insanely chilly inside of the building, and she rubbed at her arms as they walked towards security. She was surprised to find that there was little to no line waiting. Usually airports were more packed at night because that's when more people tended to travel seeing as it was the more economic choice.

They went through security and found their gate easily afterwards. She dropped down into one of the waiting chairs, surprised when House sat down in the one beside hers. It was still relatively chilly, and she rubbed at her arms, cursing herself for not thinking of a sweater. Instinctively she leaned against his shoulder, completely taken by surprise when he draped an arm around her shoulder.

She hoped their gestures had been some sort of mutual surrender. She knew he had done it because he was worried for her health, and she hoped he knew she had only snapped because she had been irritated.

"Are we…okay?" House asked, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Yeah, we're okay." She murmured in response, burying her face into his side.

* * *

They landed in Princeton a little after six in the morning. House gently shook a sleeping Cuddy to wake her. She groaned in protest before burying herself deeper into his side.

"Come on Cuddles. You can go back to sleep in the car and sleep until we go to the hospital tomorrow for all I care, but we need to get off of this plane so that we can leave."

"_Please_, don't mention going to the hospital right now." She replied standing.

"Ok."

He understood why she wouldn't want him to mention the hospital. Every time one of them had gone to the hospital for something other than work it had always ended up hurting the other. He knew every time he was hospitalized it made her sick with worry, almostas much as he felt when _she _was hospitalized. Every time she was hospitalized he couldn't help but feel anxious until she was released. Ever since the cancer scare, he had been so paranoid of losing her that even when it was just a cold it put him on edge. He was just as terrified as she was about the possibilities of what could be wrong with her.

They got off of the plane and House was not at all surprised to find Wilson waiting for them at baggage claim. He hadn't told him the reason they were coming home early, he had simply told him that Cuddy had gotten a call from her assistant insisting that she return as soon as possible to sort out a lawsuit that had been filed against the hospital.

"Welcome back!" Wilson enthusiastically greeted them, pulling Cuddy into a hug before attempting to do the same to him.

"Ay, what do you think you're doing Jimmy? We don't hug, and if we ever did, it definitely wouldn't be in public."

"Fine." Wilson replied, reaching a hand out to shake House's.

House let out a chuckle as he pulled Wilson into a hug purely for the hell of seeing Wilson's reaction afterwards.

"If you ever tell anyone of this, I will kill your cat and show your girlfriend the porno you were in." He threatened when he pulled away.

"House, stop being such an ass." He heard Cuddy say from beside him.

"Well what can I say Cuddles? Once an ass, _always_ an ass."

"People don't change, remember?" She shot back, smirking.

He felt the slight tug of his lips turning up into a smile, glad that their argument was behind them.

* * *

Cuddy couldn't help the feeling of unease at being home early. The house was empty. Rachel was at her sister's and they hadn't let anyone but Wilson know that they would be home early. She knew that House hadn't wanted anyone worrying about something that was probably nothing. Deep down she was thankful that he did that, knowing that if something _was _wrong that it would be better for just the two of them to cope with it alone for a few days before having to break the news to their daughter and their family members. She knew that if something were wrong there would be no need to tell any of their close friends. The few friends she and House did have worked at the hospital, the only person she would have to truly have to worry about giving news to was Kat.

Her oldest friend had gone through so much in the last year, that she knew if something was wrong with her Kat would be devastated. She was so lost in the darkest fragment of her mind that she failed to notice House sit down beside her. It wasn't until he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap that she acknowledged his presence.

"Hi." She whispered looking up at him.

"Hi." He replied just as softly, running his hand along her spine.

"I'm scared."

"So am I."

She loved the moments where they could sit with one another and comfort each other by just _being_ there, only speaking a few words to one another, otherwise the comfort of feeling one another close being enough. She hated that those moments where only brought on by times of trouble, but it made sense to her because those were the moments when they needed comfort. Not when they were happy, but when they were afraid that something else might be thrown at them to tear them apart.

* * *

House knew that the second he and Cuddy walked through the doors of PPTH that they would be bombarded with congratulations. Like always, he was right. There were so many people that had bombarded them with well wishes that it was a good half hour before they had finally reached Radiology.

"Doctors House and Cuddy! It's great to have you two back. Congratulations on your nuptials by the way." commented as she entered the exam room.

Laura Colon was in her late twenties and was quite possibly one of the greatest Radiologist that House had ever had the opportunity to work with. She was nice, but not sickeningly sweet. She knew when to be a bitch if she needed to be. He had learned from the beginning of the younger doctor's career at PPTH that if he wasn't as big as an ass to her as he was to everyone else that it would work in his benefit. If he was nice, he'd get his patient's results as soon as possible. If he wasn't she would hold them for a few extra hours, just to make him learn his lesson. He had tried to talk to Cuddy about making sure the younger doctor could not do that, but Cuddy had simply said that she couldn't control how her employees acted towards one another.

"Thank you." Cuddy replied, flashing one of her brilliant smiles.

"Now I understand that you're in for an X-Ray of your lower back is that right? Would you please expand onto why this is necessary?"

House watched as Cuddy sighed, defeated before taking a deep breath to speak.

"I've always had this odd little pain in my neck. It wasn't anything too bad at first. It felt like I was getting poked with a needle, always a sharp pain, but never painful enough to pay any attention to. As the years went on the pain was still there, it would come back every so often. Then it was two years ago when the first time it was really bad happened… We had been in the car on the way to get some breakfast with a friend when I felt this horrible pain in the back of my neck… Then there was a few months ago where the pain started in my lower back and half an hour later I could barely move because I was in so much pain, it was like my body was on fire. The last time was literally two days ago. We had been out eating when it just hit me, making my entire lower body ache. It was so bad that a scalding hot bath didn't even come close to soothing the pain."

"Well, that's not the first time I've heard something similar happen. It's most likely just a chronic case of back spasms, seeing as they come with age, it just seems like you've got the worst of it, but let's get an x ray done just to be sure."

"Oh… Alright…" Cuddy quietly replied.

He could tell that she was on the edge, keeping herself calm and collected on the outside but falling to pieces on the inside. He honestly hated how closed off and guarded she was at times, especially seeing as she was always the one pushing him to be open with her about things when she herself couldn't do it. He waited until Colon left the room before speaking.

"It's nothing Cuddy."

"You can't be sure of that." She replied, unmoving from her position on the exam table.

"I'm always right, it's nothing."

"_You don't know that._" She spat before standing grabbing the hospital gown before stripping and slipping it on.

He chose to not respond, knowing that it would only make her even more upset.

* * *

Cuddy couldn't help but feel a slight feeling of panic with the weight of the lead apron on her back and the fact that she had to hold still for so long as the images of her back where taken. She couldn't help but assume the worst as she waited for it to be over. A million thoughts were running through her mind as to what might happen if there was something in the results. Her biggest fears were most likely in that film.

When it was over, she was not at all surprised to find House leaned against the wall across the entrance to the room she had just occupied. They were lead back to the exam room, and it was extremely quiet as they waited. She knew that had she been anyone else it would take a few days for the results to come back, but because she was Dean and Colon believed in special treatment for those who worked at the hospital.

Ten minutes passed before Colon reentered the room with Wilson in tow.

"Oh my god." Cuddy murmured, her hand flying to her forehead as she felt House stiffen beside her. "There's a tumor isn't there?"

"Don't jump to conclusions Cuddy… It's a mass." Wilson said as he pulled the x rays up onto the light box before flipping it on.

"It's pressing against your spine which explains the chronic back pain. We can schedule you for a biopsy tomorrow because you're a priority because of your status…"

"No. I don't want special treatment. You schedule me for a biopsy whenever there's one available, not as soon as possible because I'm Dean."

"Okay then. We'll schedule you for the nearest empty slot." Wilson replied.

She nodded, trying her hardest to not fall apart right there. She had a mass in her spine and there was quite the chance that it could be a malignant tumor. She was lucky the first time around with the mass in her kidney being benign, but the chances of it being benign twice in a row were slim. The size of the mass it's self was so much bigger than the one in her kidney, about the size of two quarters and she knew there was no way it could be nothing and it scared the hell out of her.

* * *

House couldn't believe what the hell was going on. She had a mass in her spine. Cuddy had a mass in her spine. A mass he was sure was a malignant tumor because it was rare for spinal masses to be benign, especially a mass of that size. He was so angry at everything for fucking them over again. He knew that if it was malignant that would be it for them. He knew he would lose her, and he knew that it would kill him. It was going to put a strain on their relationship both emotionally and physically.

The ride home was completely silent. Neither could find the words to say. He knew she needed reassurance, but how could he attempt to comfort her when he wasn't even okay himself? How was he supposed to tell her it would all be alright, when he had told her that there was nothing wrong with here and now she had a mass in her spine? How would he be able to do any of that?

He was angry at himself for being stupid enough to think that she would be okay. He knew he didn't have reason to be _yet_. For all they knew the mass could be benign, but life had taught him to always assume the worst because it would somehow soften the blow. But if this situation happened to turn out as the worst he knew there would be no softening of the blow. He knew that nothing would be able to comfort them.

* * *

They entered the house, and Cuddy watched as House stalked off into their bedroom, hearing a door slam as he locked himself into their bathroom. She wasn't going to go after him. She knew he needed some time to himself as well to absorb what could possibly be happening. She dropped down onto the couch, kicking off her shoes and pulling her knees to her chest. She rested her chin against the top of her knees, trying her best to empty her mind. She wasn't going to think about it. If she thought about it, it would only make things for herself worse. She needed to keep her mind off of it.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of breaking glass. She stood, quickly making her way towards the bathroom. She was not at all shocked to find the mirror broken and House running his bleeding knuckles underneath the faucet.

She walked out of the room and slipped on a pair of shoes before returning to the bathroom. She reached for the first aid kit that she kept in one of the drawers of the counter, grabbing Neosporin and bandages.

"Let me see." She said softly, reaching for his injured hand. He pulled away, leaving her surprised. "Let me see." She repeated, just as softly as the first time, looking him in the eyes. She could see the pain and anger in them as she took hold of his hand.

"Sorry." She murmured as he flinched slightly at the sting of the antibiotic on the cuts.

"What happened?" She asked after bandaging his hand and running it across her lips.

"Was mad." He grunted, looking away.

In that moment she saw just how badly he was taking this. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at the fact that he was in as much pain as she currently was in the moment. They were going through this together.

"You don't have to look away. You don't have to be ashamed… It's okay to be angry…" She reached up and placed her hand against his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb.

"I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to."

* * *

_Thoughts?_


	42. The Cave

_Oh look, another update. That's 3 in less than a week right? Oh god what am I doing with my time, I should be doing homework! Anyway, thank you for your reviews... or threats in some case *cough* sissicuddles *cough* 6cbrilhante *cough* So uhm yeah, here's the next chapter. Don't get your hopes up for a new one soon, I really have to go do homework now. Don't forget to leave a review!_

* * *

He was awoken by the feel of Cuddy's lips against his neck, her fingers trailing along his side. He opened his eyes and ran a hand along her arm.

"Happy birthday…" He heard her say as she slipped a hand into his boxers.

He groaned, pulling her hand out and holding it in his own before looking her in the eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, holding her against him.

"I am completely fine." She replied, attempting to reach into his boxers again.

"Cuddy…"

He was never one to deny sex, but he knew that with the previous day's events that she was most likely emotionally wrecked, and he didn't want to feel as though he was taking advantage of her.

"House… please… I need this… I need you…"

He heard the desperation in her tone and the pleading in her eyes and couldn't deny her.

He settled himself over her, kissing her stomach as he lifted her tank top up. He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him before pulling her underwear off followed by his own. He thrust into her and using his arms to keep him above her picked up a steady pace. She moaned into his ear, causing him to increase the pace, and soon they were both frantically trying to reach the release they needed and could only get from the other. He ran his lips against her jaw as he felt her thighs quiver beneath him, her legs tightening their grip on his waist, and her breath hot against his ear as she reached her climax, her inner walls tightening against him, the sensation causing him to let out a loud groan as he came soon after her.

He collapsed against her, feeling her hands intertwine with his own as their foreheads met. He turned onto his back and she nestled herself tightly into his side, burying her face against his chest.

"Are you alright?" He asked again, running his hand along her spine.

When she didn't reply, it only confirmed what he knew since the second he had woken up. She was not alright and he knew she wouldn't be alright until they were sure that the mass in her spine was nothing but a mass, just another test of their relationship that would do nothing but bring them closer together.

He held her as she finally let herself crack, the emotions and stress of the last few days pouring out of her. He hated to see her in pain. She was always so calm and collected in times of trouble in front of others, but when it came to him, he was the one to see her when she was broken. He was the one there to see her when that façade of being so strong and fearless, shatter into a million pieces. He was the only one who knew the real her.

He continued to run his hand along her spine as she let it all out, feeling the pent up anger from their fight, and the fear of her potential diagnosis leak out of her.

"Thank you." She whispered softly, pulling herself together as she took a deep breath.

"You shouldn't have to thank me for comforting you Cuddy. It's what I'm supposed to do. We're married for a reason, for better or worse I'm going to be here to comfort you."

"I know… but I just want to thank you anyway. You never know what might happen… Things need to be said while we still have the chance to say them."

"Stop it. You're going to be around for a long time Cuddy. You'll have all the time in the world to say these things. Stop thinking about it, it will eat at you, and it will consume your mind. That's not what you need. You need to focus on the good things Cuddy. There's work and Rachel, and us. Just focus on that. If there's something in the biopsy, then we can talk about it, but until then, focus on the good things."

He knew she would find it out of character for him to be speaking to her like that, but he knew it was what she wanted to hear, and for once, he was going out of his way to make sure she knew he meant what he was saying.

* * *

She felt House's breathing slow and knew that he was asleep. She couldn't help but marvel at how well he was holding himself together for her when the previous night he could barely contain his emotions. He had never been one to show a vulnerable side, but the previous night was one of the rare moments when he had. She had never seen him so upset over something that he couldn't control. She knew that in times of trouble he was never one to crack in front of anyone, not even herself, but the previous night was different. It was the first time she had ever seen him like that.

She had never seen a man take the pain of his partner as deeply as House took her pain. She knew that every time he saw her in pain it hurt him, and she didn't know how she had been the one to get to see that side of him. She was lucky to be able to see the side of House that she was sure no one else had ever had the chance to see.

Hesitantly, she pulled herself away before getting out of bed and taking a shower. When she was finished, she walked over and kissed his forehead. She knew it would be a little while before he woke up and she knew it would be just enough time to get a few errands done.

* * *

House woke up surprised to find the space beside him empty. He groggily scratched his head before limping into the bathroom, brushing his teeth, and showering. He changed before exiting the bedroom and entering the kitchen.

He was surprised to find Cuddy waiting for him, a small chocolate cake set in the center of the round table in the kitchen. There was a small box beside it as well, and he shook his head, knowing that even though she knew he didn't really care for birthdays that she was using it as an excuse to keep her mind off of things. He wasn't going to complain about it because she was doing exactly as he had told her to do, it was just too bad that she was deflecting all of her attention to him. He honestly disliked it when people paid him too much attention, but for her sake he would deal with it.

"Happy birthday." She said as he reached her. He swooped down and pressed his lips against hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They pulled away and he could tell that she was genuinely trying to keep her mind on the good things.

"Thanks." He replied, slipping his hands down to her ass and giving her a firm squeeze.

"Do you want cake first, or your present?" She asked smiling up at him.

"Whichever."

"Present it is." She replied, taking his hand and grabbing the box beside the cake.

"Here." She handed him the box and he looked at it for a moment, wondering what could be inside it.

He opened it, revealing a silver watch. He took it out of the box and examined it, surprised to find an inscription along the back.

"_To my best friend and husband, thank you. For everything. Love always, Cuddy."_

He knew the inscription was something she was using as another little thing to keep her mind of off everything going on around them, but he honestly hated it when she thanked him. He didn't need to be thanked for supporting her. It was what he was supposed to do as her husband and as her friend. He was supposed to be there for her when she needed him to, no matter if he himself was falling apart on the inside. He didn't like to be thanked for things he owed to her. She had stood beside him so many times in the time that they had known one another and he was sure that he had never thanked her once for it. She had saved his ass so many times, and had been beside him during some of his lowest points and he had never once thanked her. He should be thanking her.

"This inscription…It's kind of ironic because I should be the one thanking you for everything. I mean, you've been around for me a lot more than I have for you. I mean, the only times I've been there for you were when the adoption fell through and when I sedated your mother. Other than that, I've done a shit job at being there for you."

"Stop it. You've done nothing but be there for me since we ignited our relationship. You've held yourself back in order to make sure I don't end up getting even more upset than I already was. You've held yourself together to let me fall apart. When Rachel went missing? You were just as scared as I was and you never let me see it. The miscarriage after the car accident? You were in pain too, but you kept yourself together so that I could fall apart. You _have_ been there House. You're just choosing to not see it."

He knew she would go on if he didn't interject, so he did so in the easiest way possible. He reached a hand behind her head and pulled her face to his, kissing her and knowing it would shut her up.

"I get your point. But really, thank you for the watch, I needed a new one anyway. Now how about this cake?"

He watched as she pulled the cake towards them, along with two plates and the proper utensils. He groaned when he saw her pull out two candles in the shape of numbers from her back pocket.

"Make me feel more like an old man why don't you?" He teased as she placed the five and the four on top of the small chocolate cake that read the standard birthday message.

"Do you want me to switch the numbers around then? Make you forty – five instead of fifty – four? Because honestly, it wouldn't make a difference to me, I'd still want to fuck you just as badly."

He let out an amused chuckle as she lit the candles.

"Blow 'em out birthday boy."

He shook his head before blowing out the candles, growling as he felt the coolness of frosting against his face.

He reached for her and rubbed his face against hers.

"Pay back's a bitch." He winked.

* * *

Cuddy extracted herself from House's side to answer her cell. It was a call from the hospital, informing her that her biopsy would be in exactly a week. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach now that she had had a reminder of what she had spent the entire day trying to keep her mind off of.

"What's wrong?" House asked the second she re-entered the room. She loved that he could read her so well that in a matter of seconds he knew something had changed.

"Biopsy's been scheduled for next week." She replied dropping down next to him and repositioning herself against his chest. "Tuesday." She finished, wrapping her arms around him to hold him to her.

"Well. I'll be there. And I mean really be there, not drugged up like the last time you had a biopsy done."

"I know you will, and I know you'll be there sober. I have no doubts on your sobriety. It's been two years, I know you're good. I trust you."

She had no doubt that he would be there for her this time around. He had been doing such a great job of it now that she knew he wouldn't be able to fuck it up because he knew how hurt she would be if he did. She knew that he last thing he wanted was to hurt her in her time of need.

* * *

The morning of Cuddy's biopsy was one of the most tense House had ever had to deal with in his life. They had agreed to have Rachel stay with Arlene for another two weeks, because they didn't want to expose her to the current situation without need to. Neither wanted her to be around when Cuddy was incapacitated from the incision wound she would have after the biopsy. It would only stress the child out and with everything going on the last thing they needed was a stressed out six year old.

The drive to the hospital was a quiet one, much like the rest of their morning had been so far. The only change was that the physical contact between the two was more than it had been before they left. They held hands the entirety of the drive to the hospital, he held her hand in his and every so often gave her the reassuring squeezes that he knew she needed.

He never left her side while she was getting prepped. He sat and waited with her while she was being hooked up to several IVs.

"If I die, you have to wear your wedding ring for the rest of your life." She teased.

He was surprised to find her like this, but he couldn't help but recall that the first time around she had said something of the same manner.

"I'll tell people you died and I couldn't bring myself to take it off. Ladies love a widower." He replied back.

"Asshole." She smiled.

He leaned down and kissed her. It was the perfect timing because just as he kissed her the nurses came to wheel Cuddy into the OR.

"I'll be right there when you wake up." He replied, watching the fear and panic fill her eyes as she was rolled into the OR.

* * *

She had been so calm all morning, and now that she was being rolled into the OR it was all hitting her at once. Within the next twenty – four hours she would know what course her life would take. She would know if the mass was a malignant or benign tumor, and depending on its outcome she would know whether or not she would need months' worth of chemotherapy in order to hopefully rid her body of a cancer she prayed she didn't have.

She had never been a fan of ORs, and when she was in one as the patient it gave her a sense of panic. She was thankful when the atheistic finally set in.

When she awoke, she smiled at the sight of House sitting in the chair beside her.

"How are you feeling Cuddles?"

"Like shit." She replied hoarsely, before flinching at the pain in her lower back.

House stood and helped her drink a glass of water before gently kissing the top of her head. As he pulled away she held onto his arm before reaching for his hand and holding it against her cheek.

"While I was under… I dreamt you weren't here when I woke up… But I knew you would be… This is just like the first time… I bottle things up and then something like this happens and I feel helpless…"

She couldn't stop herself from crying. The week building up to the surgery had left her both drained emotionally and physically. She shut herself away because she didn't want to make House be even more upset than she knew he already was over it. Her mind was at it during all hours of the day, preventing her from even a decent night's sleep. The fear was eating at her, consuming her being and she hated it.

"There's no reason for you to be so afraid. No matter the outcome, you're going to end up being fine. You're not going to die anytime soon. Stop thinking about the bad Cuddy, focus on the good… Think about it, Rachel will be back from your mother's in a few days. We'll have that little twerp around to lighten the mood… You know you can't wait for her to be home."

He was right, as always. She needed to focus on the good things... Rachel coming home from her extended vacation at Arlene's was definitely a good thing. She had missed her baby girl so much since she'd been gone. Speaking to her on the phone was not the same as being able to physically hold her daughter, to kiss her cheek. It wasn't the same as being able to see the little girl's face as she laughed at something or smiled. Their daughter coming home in a few days would be the good she would focus on.

"We could go to the movies or something… If I'm not in as much pain on Friday as I'm in now." She said, focusing her energy on something different.

"We could…" House replied, running a hand through her hair. "Or if you're bitching over your little incision area then we can order something on demand and watch it in the living room. That way I won't have to be seen in public with you, because if you're in pain, you'll surely be a mess to look at." He teased, smirking as she furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Screw you!" She replied smacking his arm playfully.

* * *

He spent the night in a recliner beside her. He spent most of the night watching her sleep. She had gotten so little of it over the past week that he knew the only reason she wasn't tossing and turning was because of the pain meds she was now on. He was glad that she had _something_ to help her sleep through the night because he knew she had needed it. He had felt her beside him at night, tossing and turning as her mind kept her awake. He saw the effect it had on her during the day, the bags under her eyes, the far off look in them when her mind was elsewhere. It was nice to see her finally at a peace of mind.

She was released the following morning, and he took her home, intent on making sure that she was comfortable. Neither had gone back to work since they had returned from France, and he knew that they would both be remaining at home for at least another week. He was going to try his best to help her out while he could.

"Are you comfortable?" He asked her as he pulled the blanket over her legs.

"No." She mumbled. He knew she hated to be taken care of and that having to be taken care of was one of the worst things possible for her. "Can you help me turn onto my side?"

He gingerly helped her turn before walking around the side of the bed to face her.

"Need anything else Cuddles?"

"I need you to lay here beside me, and tell me you love me."

"Why?"

"Because I need to hear you say it. You never know what could happen…"

He rolled his eyes as he settled down beside her, annoyed that she was still on the matter of possibly dying.

"I love you." He said softly, as she took his hand into her own.

"Thank you." She responded, almost in audibly, giving his hand a small squeeze.

He held her hand long after she had fallen asleep, his fingers running themselves over every part of her hand, taking it in, memorizing it as if it was the back of his own hand.

He was pulled out of his reverie as the sound of Cuddy's phone filled the room. He reached for it in order to let her continue sleeping.

"Hello?" He growled into the phone as he answered, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"House?" Wilson said over the receiver. "Where's Cuddy?"

"She's asleep. What do you want Jimmy?"

"The results of the biopsy are back…"

"And…?"

"House, I don't really think I should be telling you without her knowing first."

"Spit it out Wilson. I'm her husband, I deserve to know."

"It's cancer."


	43. Sigh No More

_Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews on the last chapters, they're the perfect reactions to be honest. Here's the next chapter. I really don't know what it is, it was late and yeah... It's kind of heavy on some matters but then it lightens up. Don't forget to leave a review! School ends on Thursday, so I'll see when I can update again. _

* * *

Cuddy opened her eyes at the sound of her phone ringing. She kept them on House the entire time he was talking on it. She could tell that he had no idea she was awake.

"Spit it out Wilson. I'm her husband, I deserve to know." She heard him growl into the receiver. She watched as his face dropped, her chest tightening. It was bad news. It had to be. There was no other reason for House's demeanor to change so quickly.

"It's cancer isn't it?" She whispered, her voice cracking. "It's cancer, and I am going to die, aren't I?"

She could feel the panic rise in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Her biggest fear was coming true. She had cancer, and she knew that in the end it wouldn't be okay.

"It's a stage one extradural spinal Schwannoma. He says that because it was found early, if you're started on Chemo as soon as possible, then your chances of remission are higher. They can go in and remove the tumor after the radiation has shrunk it down a bit."

She shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to allow the tears to flow. She blindly reached for him, her hand making contact with his shirt and grabbing at it, seeking the comfort she so desperately needed. She felt him gingerly pull her towards him, running his hands along her back, careful of her incision wound.

"What are we going to do?" She mumbled softly, her voice cracking as she attempted to keep herself together.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to make sure you're healthy as soon as possible."

"I don't want to die House."

"You're not going to. You are going to be healthy before you know it. You're not going anywhere anytime soon, trust me on that. I'm not letting you go."

His words were what made her come undone. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to believe that she would be alright in the end but the truth was that no one could be certain of that. Neither of them knew what the future held for them, if they would even have a future to look forward to. They didn't know if she would end up going into remission or if the cancer would spread within a matter of time and kill her.

She noted that he hadn't tried to give her any more comforting words afterwards. He simply held her and let her bare herself and her fears to him, without comment or interruption. He just let her be, and it was exactly what she needed at the moment. She didn't need his reassurance in the sense of words; she simply needed his presence and his reassuring touch to keep her from falling completely apart at the seams.

She hated to admit it but he had become her rock. She had never thought she would have ever found herself so dependent of another human being after being independent for so long. She had lived most of her adult life alone, lonely at times but never letting it really get to her. Then her relationship with House had blossomed. They had had their problems the first time around and had failed. The bout of depression that had hit her after their break up had ultimately left her with the knowledge that she needed him in her life. She needed it to be him beside her at night, knowing that no one else would ever be able to live up the most incredible man she had ever known.

Reigniting her relationship House had been the best thing decision she had ever made. She was sure that whether they were together or not she would still have been diagnosed with cancer, and she was completely and utterly grateful that she had _someone _there for her when she needed it most, and she couldn't have asked for a better person. Through everything they had endured in the past three years House had managed to hold himself together for her. He had put his own problems and emotions aside in order to focus on her needs.

She was the _one _person whom had seen him for who he truly was, caring and compassionate towards those he cared about. She didn't know how she had been so lucky to have gotten married to such an amazing and beautiful human being, but she was sure as hell knew that she would never try to take advantage of him.

"Can you call Wilson back?" She asked softly when she had pulled herself together.

He didn't question her when he silently handed her the phone.

"I'm going to ask him about the Chemo." She stated, knowing that he wanted to know what she was planning on doing.

"Are you sure you want to do that right now?" He asked, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

"I am."

* * *

Wilson jumped at his phone when he saw it light up and display Cuddy's picture on the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hi…"

"Hey… How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do for you?"

"You can tell me about Chemo and radiation."

"Are you sure you want to talk about this right now and not wait a few days?"

"I'm sure."

He was honestly surprised that she wanted to know the details of her possible treatment so soon after being diagnosed. He had thought that she would wait a few days. He should have known though that being Cuddy, she would want to start planning things as soon as possible and he knew that if she was going to fight this disease that she would fight it head on.

"The Chemo would stop the cancer cells from growing, it would essentially destroy them. It would be for an hour or two, once or twice a week. If it causes the tumor to shrink in size then we can go in surgically and remove it, otherwise if the Chemo doesn't work we can go in and remove most of the tumor and start you up on radiation afterwards to make eliminate the remnants of the tumor."

"What are the side effects?"

"Fatigue, vomiting, nausea, increased risk of infection, and hair loss."

There was a short silence at the other end of the line and he knew it was because of the last side effect. He knew that if it came down to it, Cuddy would be devastated if she lost her hair. He hoped for her sake that when she started treatment that that would be one side effect she would skip out on.

"Is that all?" She replied softly, breaking the silence on the other line.

"Yeah, essentially you know the basics… Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Can you schedule my first appointment for two weeks from now?"

"You got it."

"Thank you Wilson… I really appreciate this…"

"Anything for you Cuddy…"

* * *

House watched as Cuddy ended her conversation with Wilson, taking her phone and setting it beneath her pillow.

He let her reach up and hold his face in her hands, her thumbs caressing the lines of his forehead.

"These are going to get so much deeper within the next few months." She frowned apologetically, continuing to rub them.

"It'll be worth it in the end." He said simply.

He was ready to take whatever emotional and physical toll her treatment had in store for both of them. He knew that while she was in pain he too would be in pain. It was something that he hated to admit but his love for her was so strong that he shared her pain. He couldn't see her in pain without it hurting him because he loved her so much that the sight of her in pain had the capability to hurt him as well.

"Can you do me a favor?" She asked softly, continuing her gentle caresses of his face.

"That depends on the favor… If it's sexual, then perhaps. If not... it's most likely a no." He teased hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

"Can you stay home with me for the next few days…? I need to call mom and Julia and Kat tomorrow… I have to make sure they know sooner rather than later… You know how they get…"

"Alright… But are you sure you want to call them tomorrow? Why not wait a day or two? Maybe tell your mom when she drops Rachel off on Friday."

"No, I _have _to tell them as soon as possible."

He was surprised at the finality in her voice. It was rare for her to use it in conversations outside of the working place.

"Okay." He replied.

"Thank you." She replied, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I'm scared, House."

"I know you are." He said as he rested his chin against the top of her head.

"You're scared too… It's okay for you to tell me…"

He remained silent, stiffening and hating the fact that she could read him so well.

"It's okay for you to tell me House…"

"No, it's not okay." He said sourly. "Who cares about my feelings? This is about you. My feelings don't matter right now. What matters is that you're alright in the end."

"That's not true…" She carefully pulled herself away and he looked down at her.

"I care about your feelings. How are we going to get through this together when I don't know how you feel? You're going to have to tell me how you feel, even if you think it shouldn't matter. This isn't all about me… You're my husband, and we're going to end up going through this difficult time alone if we don't communicate. It's going to end up tearing us apart and that will only kill me faster… I need you… I need to make sure that we're still as strong, if not stronger as we are now when we go through this."

"Okay. You want to know how I feel? I am scared as hell of losing you Cuddy, because I honestly don't know what I would do without you. Not being able to hear your voice anymore, not being able to feel you beside me at night, to _touch _you, or look at your face would kill me. My biggest fear since we've been together has always been losing you, and it's _too _close to coming true."

He said what he needed to say only because she had asked him to. Otherwise he would have taken the self-destructive path by keeping his feelings bottled up until the point of bursting.

"See, it wasn't that bad was it?"

"It was terrible."

"You can't possibly be saying that it was –"

"We both know how hard it is for me to talk about my feelings. It makes me look we –"

"Shut up. Don't you dare finish that sentence. You could _never_ look weak to me. _Never_. Don't you think I know the sacrifices you've made for me, for our relationship? You deal with your leg pain at a degree that you shouldn't have because you gave up Vicodin for me. You would rather deal with the extreme pains in your leg than lose me again. Do you know how much that means to me House? No one has _ever_ sacrificed something a big as their everyday comfort for me. There is no way in hell that you are weak. "

The sincerity in her voice surprised him. He couldn't believe that after seeing him at his lowest various times she did not think of him as a weak individual.

"You're insane for believing that Cuddy."

"There's no need to state the obvious."

* * *

"Kat, it's really not necessary…"

"What wouldn't you like me around more?"

"No, of course I would love to have you around more often but really, you don't have to…"

"Lisa, I want to. We don't know how much time…"

"We have all the time in the world to spend together don't…"

"I need a change. I was considering moving down there anyway. The divorce and everything, the kids need a change in atmosphere… It'll be good for everyone…"

Cuddy knew that calling her best friend would be a bad idea. She knew that she deserved to know of her diagnosis, but she had honestly never thought that Kat would be insistent on moving to Princeton.

"If you think that it's a good idea, then I guess I can't change your mind… You're a grown woman, you know what you're doing."

"Exactly. Now, I'll see you in a few days."

"What?"

"Honey, I've already bought a house. It's like ten minutes from your place. Sarah got accepted into Princeton, and Ben wants to start off high school on a good note, not at a school where everyone knows his dad fucked a few whores while he was married."

"Oh… Okay… Then I'll see you in a few days…"

"See who in a few days?" House asked as he came through the door, arms laden with bags of Chinese food.

"Kat." She replied as he dropped down beside her on the couch, placing the bags on the coffee table. "She bought a house a few minutes from here, she and the kids are moving down in a few days."

"That should be interesting…"

"You're telling me. I can only imagine the things you two will get up to just to get under my skin."

She could only imagine the plans that her best friend and her husband would come up with to annoy her. She had honestly been surprised that House and Kat had gotten along so well when they had met. She had been expecting them to hate one another, but as usual she was wrong when it came to who could and couldn't tolerate House.

"Don't worry, we won't go so hard on you Cuddles. You'll have fun."

"Doubt it, can you pass me the rice please, I can't bend forward."

She nodded her thanks, silently taking a bite of her food. They sat in silence for several minutes before they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. She turned her head to watch as House opened the door to none other than her mother.

"Lisa Christine Cuddy, how in the _hell_ does it not occur to you to tell your mother you have cancer before telling anyone else? And to find out from _Katherine _of all people, I have never been more insulted in my life."

"Not even that time I called you a –"

"Be quiet Gregory, I don't need your interruptions at the moment. When were you planning on letting me know? Or were you just going to keep it in the dark from me until I dropped by one day to find you hairless? Or were you just going to wait to tell me when Wilson would call to inform me of your death?"

Cuddy flinched at her mother's comment.

"I was going to tell you tomorrow when you dropped Rachel off. I didn't feel that it was appropriate to tell you over the phone. " She said through gritted teeth as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"And it was appropriate to tell your friend first before your mother?"

"Why does it matter who I told first mom? Kat shouldn't have even told you. It wasn't her news to tell."

"Regardless, I brought you into this world, I should have been the first to know that my youngest has _cancer_. What made you think it was alright to wait to tell me?"

"Oh I don't know the fact that you would have obviously pitched a fit had I not told you in person. It was best for me to wait until tomorrow to tell you but hey, the cat's out of the bag. I have cancer mom. I have a tumor on my spine, and I might be dying. There I told you, are you happy now?"

"_Happy? _Why in god's name would I be happy? I knew you expected little of my love for you, but to expect me to have some –"

"Mom, I didn't say that. I meant it in the sense that you heard it from me, not that you were happy because of my diagnosis…"

"Of course not, dear. Now when do you start Chemo?"

"I start in two weeks."

"You do realize that I'm going to be around a lot more now right? Along with your sister as well."

"Yeah, I do. I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

_"A house full of people, just what I need. An over bearing best friend and sister, and a too blunt mother here all the time. Fantastic." _She thought to herself.

It wasn't that she didn't love them, she did, she really did, but the thought of having them there all the time was not a very welcome one. She knew she would need them all around at some point for moral support, but not during the time being. The only person she needed was House. They needed to go through the first few weeks of it alone, just the two of them.

"I'll get going now." Arlene said as she stood from the seat she had taken across from Cuddy. "I'll drop Rachel off around noon. I was actually surprised at how well behaved she's been. With you two for parents I was expecting her to defy authority like a certain someone… Goodbye Lisa, I will see you tomorrow."

Then Arlene then did something she rarely did. Cuddy felt her mother kiss the top of her head before being let out by House.

* * *

"You up for the movies tonight or do you just want to watch something on Demand?" House asked as Cuddy leaned her back against his chest as they sat together on the couch the following morning.

"I think I'm up for going out tonight, just us and Rachel. It doesn't hurt as badly anymore."

House sat up against the armrest of the couch, moving his hands along her shoulders.

"Sit up."

She sat up against him and he started to give her a back massage. He could feel the tenseness of her muscles after the past few days and he kneaded his palms into her shoulders. She knew better to question him because it was an act that he rarely did, but when he did it was one of his ways of showing her that he cared.

"Thank you." She turned her head to peck him on the lips when he was finished.

"No problem."

They were silent for a few minutes before a thought occurred to him.

"You're not going to cry when your mom drops Rach off in less than half an hour, will you?"

"I'm going to try not to." She answered truthfully.

"I don't want to see you crying over this again alright? At least not this week… Just take it easy for the next few days… "

"I'll try…"

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. He stood and answered the door, not even bothering to hide his smile when he felt Rachel's impact against his good leg. He picked her up, surprised at how much she'd grown in the month since he had last seen her.

"Daddy! I missed you!" The little girl said as she kissed his cheek lovingly.

"I missed you too kid." He replied, ruffling her hair.

"I'm not coming in." Arlene said as she left Rachel's suitcase by the door. "I have errands to run, I'll be back sometime next week."

House shut the door behind him and made his way towards the living room, letting Rachel run ahead of them.

He watched as their daughter screamed with joy at the sight of her mother. He could see Cuddy's eyes begin to glisten with tears as she held Rachel against her before quickly wiping them.

* * *

They had opted to not tell Rachel about her diagnosis until Cuddy started Chemo in two weeks. Cuddy watched as Rachel skipped along in front of them to the concessions line. She was surprised to hear about how much of a good time Rachel had had while staying with her grandmother over the past month. She had expected her daughter to return home and never want to visit Arlene's again, but was delighted to be proven wrong.

They bought their snacks and entered the theater, picking seats that were not too low to the ground and not too high up. The movie they had chosen to watch was _Pirates of the Caribbean : Sparrow Island. _She had actually had no say in the choice, it had been House and Rachel's idea, but she hadn't refused. Johnny Depp wasn't an unattractive man.

Hours later she laid in bed beside House, thankful that the day had gone so well.


	44. Not Alone

_Hey everyone! I know this chapter's short, but it's better than nothing. I have bad news though. Even though school's now over, I updates will still be inconsistent. I'm sorry! I just have to focus on my online classes, and apart from that there's also the play I'm attempting to write in order to take to competition in December. But anyway, here you go. Don't forget to leave a review! _

* * *

He could see that she was visibly nervous. He sat beside her in the Chemo room as Dr. Stover explained how the treatment would be administered throughout the course of three months. Stover was the hospital's second oncologist, a man who reminded House of a seventy year old version of Wilson. He was known to handle his patient's treatment the exact same way Wilson did; they both cared almost too much for their patients.

Although House had insisted that Wilson be the one to look over Cuddy's care, she and Wilson both had rejected the idea. It would clearly not be a good idea for Wilson to be treating a patient whom he was so emotionally involved with, but House couldn't care less. He wanted Cuddy to be treated by someone he could put complete and utter faith in.

"We'll administer it via IV for two hours on Mondays and Thursdays. If necessary the time frame will expand, or shorten. It all depends on if the treatment is working or not. I'll have one of the nurses come in and hook you up and get your treatment started."

"Ok." Cuddy said quietly as Stover finished speaking.

When the nurse entered, House immediately felt Cuddy grab his hand for comfort. He felt her give it a squeeze as she was hooked up to the IV.

"So…" He said trying to break the awkward silence.

"House, you're creeping me out. Stop staring at the IV line."

He hadn't even noticed that his eyes had wandered towards the needle at her elbow. It was funny how as a doctor he had never thought much about it until he had something to lose.

"You don't have to be in here with me for the next two hours. You could go bother Wilson if you prefer."

"No. I'm staying here. I'm not letting you go through your first treatment alone. "

He actually did want to be there. He knew she would need all of his support in order to be able to endure this. Had it been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have cared. Even asides from the fact that she was his wife, if they weren't together he was sure that if the situation where still the same he would still be there. He had always had a soft spot for Cuddy, even though he would have never shown it had they not become a couple.

"Thank you for doing this, for keeping me company." She replied softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

They spent the next hour conversing about nothing important. A good chunk of that hour was a discussion on the most recent episode of _Rizzoli & Isles _(they had spent the previous night too busy discussing how the title characters were obviously in denial about their sexuality), the other portion of the time they discussed the adjustments they would soon be facing with so many people wanting to be supportive of Cuddy and her illness.

"Honestly, I don't care if they're around all the time. I just want to be sure that they give _us _time to ourselves, and by us, I mean you, Rachel, and I, and sometimes just you and I. Overbearing loved ones will end up getting on your nerves, especially if you're tired and they're all smothering you. I mean come on, let's face it. The only person you truly need taking care of you is me, _your husband_, but everyone else seems to think otherwise. In sickness and in health, all that crap."

"I see where you're going, except that we didn't say the whole "In sickness and in health" crap in our vows remember? And don't worry about it, when they start smothering me, I'll tell them to back off. Other than that I'm sure you'll be able to tell them to calm it down if I come home overly exhausted or something of the sort."

"Point taken."

The second hour seemed to pass by painfully slow. He couldn't deny the sense of relief when the nurse came by to unhook Cuddy from the IV.

"That wasn't so bad…" She said as she stood. He watched as she lost her balance and dropped back down into the chair, holding her head in her hands.

"You okay?" He asked, scooting his chair towards her.

"Yeah… I'm fine… Can you pass me washer basin?" She asked suddenly, swallowing hard and covering her mouth with a hand.

He quickly limped into the bathroom and grabbed the pink basin before bringing it back to her as quickly as he could. The second he handed it to her she gagged and began emptying the contents of her stomach. He moved behind her and held her hair back and out of her face with one hand as he rubbed the other against her back. He waited until he was finished before standing and bringing her some paper towels and a water bottle to rinse her mouth out.

"You okay?" He asked again as he squatted down inside of her, regardless of his leg's protest.

"Yeah." She whispered wiping her mouth with one of the paper towels.

"You wanna wait a few minutes before heading home?"

"I have papers that need to be filed – "

"I'll have Masters file them for you. You need to go home."

"Okay." She nodded.

It was one thing for Cuddy to agree with him willingly. It was another for her to agree with him because she was facing defeat.

* * *

"She threw up not even ten minutes after she was taken off of the IV."

"House, it's nothing, cancer patients vomit all the time after treatment…"

"Send the script over to Walgreens, I'll pick it up in a little while."

She watched as House ended his call with Wilson before dropping his cellphone into one of the cup holders of his car.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked tiredly rubbing at her temples.

"Yes. Wilson's put you on an anti-nausea prescription. He says that you should take it the day before your next treatment to prevent it from happening again. He also says to only drink clear liquids, so water, sprite, ginger ale and to eat salted foods. Let me know if you need anything, I'll get it for you when I go pick up your script."

"House, do you remember how we were talking about potentially over bearing family members, and friends? Really, I know your intentions are good, but you don't need to worry so much. It's only been one treatment. We don't know if it's going to have the same side effects on me the second time around. Can you promise me that you'll just take it as it comes?"

"Alright." He replied as he pulled into the driveway of their home. They exited the car, and he limped over to her side, extending his arm to her. She gratefully appreciated the gesture in the case that she be overcome by another dizzy spell on the walk towards the front door. The last thing she wanted was to return to the hospital with a concussion or worse.

House unlocked the door and she was grateful that she still had her arm linked with his when Rachel slammed into her side.

"Hi baby." Cuddy said as she gave her daughter a peck on the cheek and a hug.

"Hi momma." Rachel replied, kissing her mother's cheek.

Usually a conversation between the two would ensue, but she felt too unwell to be able to go through with it. She honestly hoped that that would be one of the only times she would have to miss out on her daily talks with her daughter. It was something she looked forward to, getting to know what her pride and joy was up to at school and what had happened throughout her day. It was such an essential part of a child's childhood that she did not want to miss out on.

"Honey, momma's not feeling too good, so she's going to go to bed. Ok? I'll make sure to have something for you when I get home tomorrow."

"Okay momma. Feel better."

She kissed the top of Rachel's head before making her way into the bedroom, striping, and heading into the shower.

When she got out of the shower she found House sitting in bed waiting for her.

"I went and got your prescription, and I picked up some pretzels and a sprite in case you wanted something that would probably stay down when you consume it."

"Thank you." She replied, giving him a peck on the lips.

She sat down beside him, leaving some space between them. They stayed that way for several minutes before he pulled her against him. She was a bit caught off guard by his gesture but she didn't question it.

"I would do anything for you." She heard him mumble against the top of her head.

* * *

Cuddy's second chemo treatment went better than the first. He was glad that he didn't need to watch her empty the contents of her stomach for the second time in less than a week.

"Are you sure you can drive yourself?" He asked as he walked her towards the parking lot after her session.

"I'm fine. Your team needs you, you have a case, now get to work. I'll let you know if I need anything."

He complied, reluctantly making his way back up to his office.

"The patient has developed some sort of rash and it's spread across the left side of his body."

"What does it look like?" He growled as he dropped into one of the chairs.

"It looks more like blistered burns, not a rash. But it has to be a rash because the patient hasn't been burned within the time frame that the rash originally appeared."

"Blistered burns?" He asked skeptically.

"She's not kidding." Masters commented.

"I didn't ask if she was kidding." He snapped. "What other symptoms are there?"

"Jaundice, blindness."

"Foreman, get a brain scan. If something changes, page me."

"Send Cuddy my well wishes." Chase yelled after him as he limped out the door.

He was surprised it had taken his team so long to comment on Cuddy's diagnosis, but he was not surprised that it had been Chase to say something first. Chase had always had a knack for kissing ass, and the fact that he had always made sure to have his clinic hours in on time had quickly made him one of Cuddy's favorites. He figured that they were afraid he would snap at them for giving his wife their regards, but in all honesty he couldn't care less. He would pass on their wishes, and that would be it. Normally he wouldn't care, but he knew that support from even his team would make Cuddy know that she wasn't just a hospital administrator; her employees actually did care about her.

He pulled into the driveway of their home at a little after ten. He was surprised that the light in the living room was still on. Most nights at this hour Cuddy was tucked away in the comfort of their bedroom either reading or lying beside him after having had her mind blown during sex.

He slipped into the house, shaking his head as he attempted to suppress a smile at the sight of her and Rachel curled up on the couch together. He made his way towards them before scooping down and carefully picking up Rachel and carrying her into her bedroom. He laid her down, making sure that she had her favorite stuffed dog tucked beneath her arm. When he was sure she wouldn't wake, he slipped out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Cuddy." He whispered, shaking her gently. She didn't stir, so he shook her a little harder.

"Hm?" She said groggily.

"Come to sleep in the room. It's more comfortable for you and better for your back."

"Noo, I'm too tired and my head hurts and I'm nauseous. Moving to the bedroom would only make me throw up…"

"Told you you'd have to end up taking those anti-nausea medications. If only you'd have listened to me, then you could have avoided this."

"I get your point. You were right, I was wrong, as always. Now shut up." She mumbled, before sitting up.

House watched as she closed her eyes for a moment before attempting to stand. She dropped back down onto the couch and he took it as his cue to walk into their bathroom and grab her bottle of medication and the glass she kept on the counter, filling it with water.

He brought it back to her and held it out to her.

"Thanks." She mumbled, taking the bottle and the glass from him and downing them both in one swig.

He nodded his acknowledgement before running a hand through her hair.

"Come on. Let's go to bed."


	45. When Your Mind's Made Up

_Hi guys! Here's the next chapter. It changes POVs 4 times I think, and I almost considered throwing in another character's POV, and not just the three were used to seeing, but decided against it. There's also the introduction of two characters who've been mentioned in passing. Anyway, it's kind of short, but it's kind of important-ish. Which reminds me, thanks to all of you who've reviewed since the last chapter! It surprises me every time I get a new alert email, I honestly dont understand how it's possible after more than a year. Thanks to everyone who's reading, it means the world to me. Enjoy this bit, I'll try to update again within the next two weeks._

* * *

Cuddy was sitting in her office, reviewing budget reports from the past week when Wilson entered, unannounced, something she found odd. Wilson was never one to enter without permission. Something had to be wrong.

"What's up?" She asked, pushing the reports aside and giving him her full attention. "Is something wrong with one of my blood tests?"

"No, not all!" He said quickly, causing her body to relax. She had never felt herself stiffen in the first place.

"It's actually the complete opposite… There's been a drastic decrease in the amount of cancerous cells. It's actually brought up a procedure that wasn't possible before…"

"Which is?"

"There is a surgery to remove the mass…But because of the location of the tumor, there's a chance that you may not be able to walk afterwards…"

She sat back in her chair taking a deep breath, taking it in. Was it worth the risk? If she had the surgery, there was a chance that she may not be able to walk again. But there was also the chance that she would be able to walk. Not only that, but the mass that was spreading cancerous cells throughout her body would be removed, and she would most likely be cancer free after a few months.

"What's the percentage of not being able to walk?" She asked suspiciously, knowing that he had left out for a reason.

"It's a fifty-fifty chance…" He replied, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll let you know…" She retorted.

"Alright… But don't let the risk shut you down… Think it through…"

"Don't worry Wilson, I will. I already am. Like I said, I'll let you know."

She watched him go before flipping open her laptop.

She left the hospital late that night, a little after nine. She needed to talk to House about it, just to get his intake on it although she had already made up her mind, and no one was going to change it. She entered their house and found him in the living room.

She sat down in the armchair closest to him and he must have noticed the tenseness in her posture because he immediately sat up and turned the television off.

"We need to talk…" She said softly looking up at him.

"Well go on, talk." He pressed, waiting for her to break her silence. "Wilson came to me today about my blood tests… He says the cancerous cell count has dropped drastically in the three months since I've started chemo, which has opened up another treatment option. There's a surgery to remove the mass… With the mass gone, the cancer would be virtually non-existent within a few months."

"Okay… But…"

She was holding back because she was afraid of how he would react.

"Because of the location of the tumor… There is a chance of lower limb paralysis…" She replied after a brief pause.

"What's the percentage?"

"Fifty-fifty."

"No."

"What do you mean no?" She asked skeptically.

"You can't take that risk."

"House, I'm a grown woman. I think I know what's best for me, and what's best for me is that I take that chance and have the surgery because regardless of the outcome, the mass that is killing me will be gone, and within a few months afterwards, I will be cancer free. I would rather lose the ability to walk than to have to suffer through god knows how many more months of chemo that in the end may not even work."

"You said it yourself, your blood tests show that the cancerous cell count has drastically decreased in the three months since you've started chemo, and you're telling me there are chances it might not work in the long run? That's bullshit Cuddy, and you know it." He growled.

"This is my decision House. It's my life, I am the only one who is risking something." She replied angrily.

"No, you're not the one risking something. Do you not realize the repercussions of your decision if it ends badly? You're not the only one who is going to suffer if you end up paralyzed. What about Rachel? What the hell are you going to tell her when you come home bound to a wheel chair for the rest of your life? You do realize that if you're paralyzed you're going to need a live in nurse right? Because you and I both know that I can only carry you for so long without my leg giving out, and if you're paralyzed I'm not going to be able to help you."

"I can worry about that if it happens, which there is a chance it won't. My mind is made up, and _nothing _is going to change it!"

They were toe to toe at this point, having stood from their seats in the heat of the argument, practically yelling at one another. She was filled with rage that he had the audacity to believe that he could veto a decision that overall would affect her the most.

"You know what? Fuck it." He growled before limping towards the door and slamming it behind him.

* * *

Wilson's doorbell rang at around ten, and he should have known who it was before even opening the door, but for some reason it had slipped his mind as to who could be bothering him at that time on a Tuesday night. He opened it, surprised to find House standing there.

He noticed angered expression on his best friend's face before realization hit. Cuddy had spoken to him about the risky procedure that was almost guaranteed to leave her cancer free, but with the risk of never being able to walk again.

"Before you attack me, it was in my best medical judgment to inform her about the second option." He said quickly, putting his hands up in surrender.

"You're not even her goddamn attending Wilson. What the hell were you thinking when you told her about it? Now she's hell bent on doing it!" House angrily growled.

He rolled his eyes before responding.

"I was thinking that it is what's best for her, and since you've just informed me that she is hell bent on having it done, it means she agrees with me. That surgery will make sure that she goes into permanent remission. With that mass gone there is nothing producing cancerous cells within her body, the remaining cells will be exterminated after a few more chemo treatments post op. Are you honestly telling me that you would rather see your wife suffer the effects of having spinal cancer, a disease that over time would leave her wheelchair bound and sickly, than to see her wheelchair bound but healthy if the surgery has the negative effects?"

He waited for House's response, satisfied when it didn't come. He prided himself in the moments when he proved House wrong and left him speechless.

"Take some time to cool off, and spend the night here. The last thing any of us need is for you to go home and end up in a shouting match. You can take the guest room, you know where I keep the extra blankets and whatnot. If you get hungry, help yourself, just don't eat everything."

"Too late, shouting match already happened. Though it wasn't really shouting because the twerp was asleep, but more like heated whispers." House replied, seemingly calmer than when he had arrived a mere ten minutes earlier.

"Well then, it's a good thing you came over here to yell at me instead of staying home and saying something stupid to make things even worse. I'm going to bed, don't break anything."

* * *

He and Cuddy avoided one another the following day before heading out to work, and at work. In the morning, he made sure to come home from Wilson's long after she had left for work. At work he had sent his ducklings to do his bidding, and had never left the comfort of his office.

That night at home though was completely different story. He had something planned, a sort of intervention if you could call it. He left work before she did, calling his allies before making it home. Arlene and Julia would be there within the hour.

He'd never thought he'd see the day where he would be on the same team as Julia Cuddy. Arlene, he could see, she was similar to him in a way, he could reason with her on occasion. Julia on the on the other hand despised him, and that hatred of him had obviously turned her against him in every way shape or form. Expect for this one matter. When it came to her younger sister's wellbeing, House knew she would go out of her way to make sure her sister was alright in the end.

It was nearing seven o'clock when Cuddy got home. He could tell from her expression that she was pissed off over the fact that he had called in reinforcements. She wasn't daft, he knew that the moment she had pulled into their driveway and had seen her sister's car that it would have clicked.

"I can't believe this… Seriously, what the hell?" She protested angrily as she entered the living room, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Lisa honey, we just want what's best for you." Julia said, reaching out to her younger sister.

House watched as Cuddy coldly pulled away before her sister could make contact.

"I _know_ what's best for me! And I can't believe you would do this to me. What the hell House, you're supposed to be on my side, you're my _husband _for god's sake. Stop being so goddamn selfish and support my decision even if you don't approve of it!"

He watched as she stormed off, his plan obviously failing as he heard the sound of her car pulling out of the driveway.

"She's too hard headed for her own good. Julia, let's go. We don't want to be in the middle of the argument when they start to copulate. No point in getting in between a lover's quarrel, they'll figure it out on their own." Arlene said as she stood.

House led them to the door, shutting it behind them not believing what had just happened.

* * *

"I personally think that you should go on with the procedure." Kat said as she placed a bowl of ice cream in front of Cuddy.

"Nothing like a talk with my best friend and her kids to cheer a girl up." Cuddy said before spooning some of the frozen treat into her mouth.

She had spent the last two hours at Kat's ranting about her current situation with House. She was glad to have at least someone on her side.

"But House's got a point." Ben, Kat's fifteen year old stated matter-of-factually. "I mean look at it from his point of view Aunt Lisa. You two have been together now, what? Three and a half years right? And in the time you've had a cancer scare, a car accident, and now this. I mean, it's only logical that he would be upset about the possibilities of you being paralyzed. He has seen you go through a lot of pain in since he's known you, it makes sense that he doesn't want to see you suffer even more…"

"Benjamin, be quiet." Kat reprimanded sternly, causing Cuddy to laugh softly.

"No, Katherine it's okay… Ben, you're a little too wise for your age. You realize that yes?"

"I've been told. But hey, I'm just saying, look at it from his angle. Not saying you shouldn't have the surgery though, I prefer my extended family members cancer free thank you very much. But you've got to see where he's coming from as well."

Cuddy let it settle for a minute, wondering how in the world someone so young could be so wise. It almost reminded her of House when she had first met him. Wise well beyond his years at only twenty – six.

"That's the thing though Ben, House doesn't see where she's coming from. He's only seeing it from his angle. Aunt Lisa, you're both looking at it from the wrong perspective." Sarah, Kat's eldest stated as she leaned back in her chair.

"Okay Kat, what the hell have you feed these kids to make them so goddamn smart and insightful?" Cuddy asked skeptically, not believing how two people so young could dissect such a complex matter when it came to herself and House.

"It's all the sugar she gave us growing up." Ben said as he stood, taking his bowl and dropping it into the sink. "I'm off to watch _Game of Thrones_. I'll see you around Aunt Lis."He finished, kissing Cuddy on the cheek before exiting the room.

"Which reminds me, I have an essay to write on Meryl Streep for Comp one. I too shall see you around, dearest Auntie." Sarah giggled, giving her a hug.

"They've been really worried about you, you know, ever since you've been diagnosed. They just want you to be happy and healthy, their intentions are good." Kat said after making sure that neither of her children where within hearing distance.

"Yeah, I know. But they're both right. I guess I should put myself in House's shoes and vice versa… But for him to go behind my back and tell my mother and my sister, and try to get them to convince me that this is a bad idea… I don't get it."

"Then this is what you do hon. You go home and talk to your husband. It's been an entire twenty – four hours, and avoiding it will get you nowhere. This is something that you two need to discuss, and was assuming what the other is thinking won't do anything but damage. Let's face it, you and I both know that the only person who's support you really want and need is his, and if you don't talk to him about it there's a chance you might not get it."

Why was everyone in Kat's household right? It was as if they all knew what exactly to say to make a person feel bad over a situation that isn't entirely their fault.

"You all just need to become psychiatrists." She mumbled before standing and leaving.

* * *

"Where's Mom?" Rachel asked as she sat across from House at the kitchen table.

He had needed something to keep his mind off of things, so what better to do than to entertain himself by playing chess with his favorite kid.

"She needed some time to herself." He said simply. He had no intention of letting the girl know of what was going on between himself and Cuddy. It wasn't something that needed to be inflicted upon the child.

"Check." He said placing his knight in the perfect position to capture her king.

"Checkmate." She said sweetly, over taking his king with her bishop.

He skeptically analyzed the board, wondering how he could have lost to a six year old. Rachel was too smart for her own good.

"Good job kiddo. You've got your old man beat." He replied, shaking his head as he offered her a congratulatory high five.

He stood from his position at the table and limped to the cabinet, grabbing a pack of chocolate chip cookies. Just as he turned back towards his seat, he spotted Cuddy in the doorway.

"Here Rach. Now go to your room and watch some tv alright?" He handed her a few cookies, and watched as she hesitantly exited the room.

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of coke before sitting down and waiting for her to speak.

"We're being ridiculous." She said simply, sitting across from him.

He let out a low laugh at her statement.

"_We're _being ridiculous?" He replied, crossing his arms. "I think you mean, _you're _being ridiculous."

"No. Shut up. You don't get to call me ridiculous without hearing me out." She hissed.

He sat back, deciding to listen to whatever she had to say.

"We're not looking at this from the right perspectives. Put yourself in my shoes House and tell me you don't think it's a good idea."

"It's not the same, because I care more about you than I do myself. I don't care if I end up in a wheelchair; I'm already half way there. If I was in your position, I'd have the procedure done. But that's me, House having the procedure done. Not you, Cuddy."

"That makes absolutely _no_ sense House. You've just said that you would do it if you were in the same position, regardless of your jumbled up reasoning, you said you would do it. So there, that's enough understanding for me, my mind is made up."

"You're insane." He said simply watching her stand.

"Love you too jackass." She retorted, before exiting the room.

* * *

_Comments? Concerns? Threats? Leave them in your review!_


	46. Lessons Learned

_What better way for me to celebrate my birthday today than to update for you guys! None, exactly. So here you go, and be kind and leave me a review for my birthday. It honestly shocks me the amount of hits/views this fic gets per month. I don't get it, there's better things to read but I appreciate you guys for reading. ^^_

* * *

A week later and they were still on bad terms. The ripple in the water had yet to settle. They had spent their nights on their respective sides of the bed, no intertwining limbs, no form of contact. They'd kept their conversations brief, asking questions that required one worded answers or only discussing work. He would send his team to do his bidding, and she wouldn't come to him unless completely necessary, which had yet to occur.

House leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. Maybe it was time to give it in. Cuddy was stubborn, more stubborn than she would ever admit. He knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind about the surgery. Had the percentage of paralysis been lower, he would have been all for it. He'll he'd even want to be in the OR while it was happening, but because it was fifty-fifty, he couldn't be for it. If things went wrong, he wouldn't be able to endure seeing her suffer. He had seen her go through one cancer scare that had torn their relationship apart. He had seen her experience the joy of pregnancy only to have it torn away from her by an accident. He had seen her be diagnosed and had watched her got through the effects of chemo for the last three months. He had seen how sickly she had gotten towards the end of her first month of treatment, how she could barely keep anything down and had had to take a week off from work. There was only so much a person could watch a loved one endure.

Delving even deeper into his mind, it hit him that he himself was probably causing her pain as well by not offering his support in her decision. He knew how important his support was to her, and there he was causing her more pain. Not even bothering to think of her, being selfish as he usually was. He sighed, and stood grabbing his cane. It was time to make things right.

* * *

Cuddy was cuddled up on the couch, with Rachel lying beneath her arm. They were currently enjoying the _Glee _movie. It was her first time watching it, whereas it was Rachel's hundredth. They sang along to the songs, she surprised that Rachel had learned the words to all of them and memorized them so well. She was also impressed with her daughter's voice. For a five year old, she was pretty good. She made a mental note to enroll her in vocal lessons if Rachel wanted to do them.

The movie came to an end, and she noted that her daughter had fallen asleep. She smiled, picking her up and carrying her to her bedroom. She placed her in her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and kissing the top of her forehead.

She shut the door to Rachel's room, letting out a small yelp as she turned and collided with House.

"Sorry." She said softly, turning and heading towards their bedroom. She heard the tapping of his cane and knew he was following behind her. She got into bed and pulled the covers around her, feeling a draft from the cool late October breeze. She grabbed the book Ben had lent to her, _"A Game of Thrones"_ insistent that she read it and opened it up to the most recent chapter she had read. She felt the bed shift as he sat down on her side of the bed.

He grabbed the book from her and set it face down on her nightstand so she wouldn't lose the page.

"What are you doing?" She asked, irately reaching for the book again only to have him put his hand over it.

"I'm sorry I haven't been the most supportive husband." He said, his tone barely audible.

She relaxed at his words, forgetting her irritation.

"Are you really?"

"Yeah… I'm an ass, but I want you to know that you'll have my support if you go through the procedure. I just don't want to see you suffer again."

"You couldn't have just said that last week?" She said softly, leaning forward and putting her hand on his cheek.

"It takes time for me to process things properly… it's not easy for me to admit that I'm wrong…"

"I know it isn't." She replied running her thumb against his cheek. "I accept your apology… I'm glad we can put this aside…It hurts me when our arguments last for more than a few hours, or a day or two…" She learned forward and pressed her lips against his in a silent truce.

He responded enthusiastically, gently pushing her against the pillows, one hand pulling the covers off of her and the other hooking itself around her waist. She gasped for breath as he pulled away from her, her hands already moving towards her tank top. It had been over a month since they had had sex, chemo leaving her too drained to be able to attempt it anything physical. She was feeling up to it now, and there was no way she would let the moment falter.

She pulled it off before letting out a soft moan as he bit her neck, sucking at the hollow of it. Usually she was against it, because if she let him get carried away, he'd leave a bruise and she'd have to deal with the after math the next morning, but in the moment, she had no care about it. She moved a hand to his pants and stroked him through his jeans, smirking as she felt him twitch through the denim. His mouth moved along her body, and he took one of her breasts into his mouth, sucking on her taunt nipple as she bit her lip, her hand wandering into his hair holding him against her. He held her other breast with his free hand, rolling her nipple between his fingers, causing her to let out a pleased whimper. He moved his mouth to her other breast, not wanting it to feel neglected before releasing it and kissing his way along her abdomen.

She could feel her heart rate increase as his mouth traveled south, stopping at her pubic bone. He slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of her shorts and pulled them off along with her thong. She shuddered as he lifted her right leg, kissing his way long it until he reached her heat. He stopped and dropped her leg against his shoulder before doing it to her left leg as well. She took a deep breath, anticipating what would come next.

She moaned as his mouth made contact with her heat, her back impulsively arching into him and her hands digging into the sheets as he ran his tongue along her folds. He pressed his thumb against her clit, rubbing it in circles and she cried as she felt her body begin to tremble. She squeezed his head between her thighs as he continued to work his tongue on her, causing her to cry out as her muscles tightened and she felt a wave of pleasure hit.

* * *

He blew a puff of air against her as he felt her thighs tighten around his head. She came in his mouth and licked at her heat, devouring her juices as he held her against the mattress.

He pulled away from her as her breathing slowed, making his way back up towards her. She regained herself and pushed him against the headboard, pressing her lips against his as her hands unzipped his pants. He groaned as her hand made contact with his throbbing cock, sensitive to the touch as she worked her hand along his length, his hips bucking towards her hand. Her lips wandered along his jaw before her hands left him and pulled his jeans and boxers off before returning for his shirt.

He tilted his head back against the headboard as she ran her tongue against the vein on the side of his cock, her hand massaging his testicles. She smiled at him before wrapping her lips around his tip, her tongue circling it. The feeling alone made him want to explode in her mouth but he knew it was too soon.

She took him deep into her throat and hummed, causing him to moan in approval. He slipped his hand into her mess of loose curls, as she began to bob her head back and forth in a slow but pleasurable manner. Her hands continued to massage his testicles before she picked up her pace and sucked him harder than she had been doing before.

"Need to be…inside of you." He growled, pulling her up towards him. She straddled him, looking down at him with a fiery glint in her eye. He positioned himself into a sitting position before pulling her down onto him, watching as she closed her eyes, flipping her hair back, her mouth slightly agape as she leaned forward. Moving his hands to her ass, House gave her a squeeze before leaning forward and nipping at her bottom lip. She whimpered against his lips as he kept his grip on her, thrusting into her as he felt her tighten against his member.

He pushed her back towards the foot of the bed, pulling himself completely out of her before thrusting into her once more, with such force that she cried out in pleasure. Their fingers intertwined, lips meeting as he slowed his pace, wanting to make the moment last.

* * *

Cuddy moaned softly as her back arched into House, feeling herself peak. She whimpered against his lips as her body quivered beneath his, her orgasm numbing her mind and body, making her focus on nothing more but the man who was causing her so much pleasure.

She heard him groan as he came inside of her, his lips never parting from her own. One of his hands released hers, and she smiled giddily as he pulled away, running it through her hair. The look of so much love and affection in his eyes made her heart melt.

He dropped down beside her and she pressed herself against his chest, her fingers toying with the few hairs on his chest as his hand rubbed her right shoulder.

"What are you doing?" She asked, giggling when she felt his finger trace a pattern against her upper arm.

"Spelling something, figure it out."

She focused on the feeling of his finger on her skin, her mind analyzing each letter of the alphabet with each pause of his finger that indicated he had finished writing each letter out. She smiled when she figured out what he had been spelling, kissing his chin.

"I love you too." She said softly.

* * *

"When's your surgery?" House asked as he kissed Cuddy's cheek, before dropping down beside her at the kitchen table and taking a bite of the buttered toast in his hand.

"Daddy, why are you being so nice to mommy?" Rachel asked, giggling after he had kissed Cuddy's cheek.

"Because daddy was mean to mommy for a week and he feels bad so he's being extra nice to her to make it up to her." Cuddy replied, chuckling.

He wasn't going to admit it, but he did feel a sort of remorse for being such as asshole for the past week. Maybe, subconsciously he was trying to make it up to her by being a little more affectionate.

"Daddy's a jerk."

"That he is."

"Hey, I'm still here you know!" He grumbled in a hurt tone.

"We know you are." Cuddy replied condescendingly before leaning towards him and smiling as she pressed his lips against hers.

"Anyway, as I was saying, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted." He sent a playful glare at Rachel, who responded by sticking her tongue out at him. "When's your surgery?"

"There's no set date yet, but Stover says it can be done before the end of next month. He wants to perform it a few days before Thanksgiving and I thought that was fine. That way we wouldn't have to deal with the same thing as last year no family around none of that. It could be just us and Rachel… I mean we can give thanks by ordering take out, what better way to be grateful for something than to spend the day with the two people I'm most grateful for having?"

"Huh. Well that sounds ok. Did he specify on how long the procedure will last?"

"No, he's going to go into details about it after my next chemo session, which is today at four. If you want to know more, just come around…"

He nodded his acknowledgement, feeling a sense of guilt for having stopped attending her chemo sessions.

"I'll be there."

He showed up half way through her chemo session, and idly chatted with her until she was hit with a bout of nausea. He handed her a paper towel when she was finished. He hated seeing the effects of the chemicals on her body. She was already tiny, but the constant vomiting had caused her to lose at least fifteen pounds, making her even smaller. Aside from that for a day or two afterwards her complexion would pallor, making it obvious that she was ill even though she continued to smile brightly not letting It affect her. He honestly couldn't wait for the day when she was cancer free.

"Dr. House, it's good to see you around the oncology wing again." Dr. Stover said, raising an eyebrow surprised at seeing House.

House grunted his acknowledgement, earning a slap on the arm from Cuddy.

"Be nice." She reprimanded. "He's here to hear about the procedure."

"Ah, well great, great." Stover nodded, sitting in a seat across from them and opening Cuddy's file.

House looked down as he felt Cuddy take his hand and place it between her own on her lap.

"Well, then. The procedure could take anywhere between two to six hours, depending on the difficulty of removing the tumor. We'll make a six inch incision starting from the middle of your spine to the small of your back. From there we'll go in and expose the spine, allowing us to view the mass and its placement before removing it. It's simple really."

"Simple if you don't knick one of the nerves on her spine and leave her crippled." House scoffed, rolling his eyes.

He was trying to be supportive but the fact that Stover was making it seem as if it was nothing pissed him off. it was something, there was a high percentage that his wife would come out of procedure bound to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life.

"This surgery has been performed millions of times and ninety – five percent of patients have recovered perfectly well, no paralysis at all. There is really no need to worry."

"Right. We done here?" He slipped his hand out of Cuddy's and stood.

"Yeah, we're done. Dr. Cuddy I'll see you next week." Dr. Stover replied not at all bothered by House's attitude, before standing and leaving.

* * *

"Do you have to be such an asshole?" Cuddy snapped irately, before standing. "You told me you were going to support me in this, acting like an adult would help House."

She walked out ahead of him, internally flaming. She couldn't believe that after telling her he would support her in her choice less than twenty – four hours ago he was now doing the exact opposite.

"Hey, I'm supporting you." He said as he caught up to her, grabbing her wrist and turning her towards him. "I was there wasn't I? I cooperated for most of it. I acted like an asshole, sure, but when don't I act like one? And another thing, he was making it seem as if the surgery were nothing, when it's something."

"Not all doctors are going to be bluntly honest about procedures like you are House. Whatever, can we just drop this and go home? I'm tired, I want to get some sleep." She replied, shrugging him off and not believing a word of what he had said.

"Come on, don't be like this."

"I'm not being like anything." She replied, reaching up and touching his face, putting on the tired expression. "I just want to go home and sleep, we didn't get much last night…"

"Ok."

* * *

_Yeah, simple ending. Concerns, comments? Leave them in your review! _


	47. Baby, We'll Be Fine

_I took a month and two days, I'm sorry. :( This would have actually been posted two days ago had I not beat it into myself that I wouldn't post this until I was a quarter into the next chapter, which I've started and I'm just going to warn you all, shit is about to go down, be afraid. or not. Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! You can also thank incendioctober for this chapter because a conversation with her on skype is what led to the end of my writer's block! OH, and if you haven't, read 'fix you' by paramorefreak24 and leave her a review. If she gets more reviews, she'll update. Oh and read "Flash Forward" by AletheHOUSEwife. okay bye now. I'll post the next chapter as soon as it's finished! _

* * *

It was late and she was irritated. Her surgery to remove the mass in her back was less than a week away and internally she was breaking down, and the current struggle she was having with the clothing iron was not helping her emotional frustration at all. In the current mess of last minute preparations she hadn't had a chance to stop at the dry cleaners to have her blazers cleaned and ironed and had had to wash them self. She only needed _one, _and she couldn't get the damn thing to iron properly. She had never bothered to learn how to use an iron, and she was regretting it greatly. She couldn't have children, she couldn't cook, and she couldn't iron clothes. As a woman, she was virtually a failure.

"Fuck this." She hissed as she burned herself with the iron, breaking her own rule of not cursing. She slammed it against the ironing board before sucking on her finger in attempt to keep it from blistering.

"What is going on in here?" House asked as he entered the room, raising an eyebrow as he spotted her with her finger in her mouth and the steaming iron. He walked over to her and she could feel her bubbling emotions begin to pour over. She turned and leaned her head against his chest.

"I, am a failure." She mumbled her finger still in her mouth. She jumped as the iron hissed, catching her off guard.

"Let me see." He asked, pulling her finger out of her mouth. She sighed, wrapping her arm around him as he ran the fingers of his other hand along her spine. "It's blistering. Let me go get the first aid kit."

She took a step back and sat down on the couch as he limped out of the room. She waited for a moment before he returned, sitting beside her on the couch and taking her hand.

"Can't even use a clothing iron, tsk tsk Cuddy." He teased as he rubbed a dash of antiseptic on the wound.

"Please don't." She mumbled, wincing as he applied the bandage to it.

"What the hell are you doing ironing a blazer at two am?"

"I didn't get to stop by the dry cleaner's this weekend, I've got that board meeting in the morning making sure that the interim dean knows what the hell she's doing when I'm in recovery, introducing her to the board and what not."

"You couldn't have just worn one of those frilly blouses?"

"No. It's a board meeting, they're unprofessional. I need to iron the blazer." She said annoyed, as she stood.

"You don't even know how to use an iron. Sit down. I'll do it." He said pulling her back down beside him and standing.

She didn't protest. She was too tired to attempt to fight the damn thing again. She should have learned how to use a clothing iron in her youth, but at forty – six she couldn't be bothered. If House knew how to iron clothes, then she might as well take advantage of this skill she didn't know he had.

She laid her head against the arm rest and watched as he limped over to the ironing board and started to iron her blazer. She was surprised at how graceful he was doing it, and wondered why he even knew how to iron clothes. He never cared for his appearance, his shirts were never ironed, his blazers always wrinkled. The only time he was actually well dressed with wrinkle free clothing was when she took the time to take his clothes to the dry cleaners because of an event at the hospital.

"You better watch and learn because the chances of me ever doing this for you again are slim to none." He said as she watched him run the iron over the shoulder of the blazer, followed by the sleeves. She smiled. She'd felt like complete and utter shit for the entirety of the day, and the one thing to make her feel better was the fact that she was watching her husband, the least domestic person she had knew, iron a blazer.

When he was finished, he pushed her feet off of the couch and took their place. She rolled her eyes before popping them into his lap, careful of his bad leg.

"Since when do you know how to iron clothes?" She asked curiously.

"Since I was a kid…Dad…used to make me do chores around the house so that I would be 'useful' later on in life because I was clearly not good enough to find a woman who would want me, even when I was a kid."

"Which was clearly a load of bullshit." She replied sitting up.

"Someone's got a potty mouth on her tonight." He replied running his hands along her calves.

"No. I'm just frustrated at everything. That damn iron, the interim dean, life, your father for fucking up your childhood."

"It's not a big deal, it's in the past, I've moved on."

"It is definitely a big deal. I don't understand how your mother could have sat back and let you be abused like that. You were a kid. You didn't deserve the torment your so called father put you through. I know she was scared for herself too, but come on. How could she let him do that to you? If someone tried to hurt Rachel, you would sure as hell bet I would do whatever possible to keep her safe, even if that involved taking a hit. I would rather be hit several times, than to have my child be hit _once_. I'm sorry, I love your mother, she is a great woman and has shown nothing but kindness to me, to Rachel, but she is weak for not being able to leave your father and not being able to keep you safe. It is honestly something I cannot comprehend." She huffed irately.

It was something she had always wanted to say but had never had the courage to say it, and to finally let it out was a great feeling. She had no idea why she had let it out, maybe it was because there was a chance that she would be dead within the next four days, although she truly doubted that death was so imminent in her future, still a person only had one life to live.

"That's exactly why she never left him." House replied calmly. "My mother is weak. She is emotionally fucked up because of him. She was so dependent on him that she didn't think she could live without him in her life, when clearly she could have seeing as he's been dead for five years and she's fine. But she didn't know that she could live without him then, and yes, I had to suffer because of her weakness, and it sucks but _it's okay_. You can't change the past. You getting angry over something that happened to me over forty years ago won't do anything."

"It's just…ugh, I just don't understand it. How could someone hurt you like that? How could someone let you get hurt like that? You are this amazing human being, and because of the way you were treated as a child you fail to see it."

"Stop dwelling on the past, especially a past that isn't even your own. I've moved on from it, I don't let it affect me anymore. At some point in time, I did let it get to me. It fucked me up, badly, but it's okay. I haven't attempted suicide in years, I haven't slit my wrists since college. I've moved on, and that's all that matters."

She pulled her feet out of his lap and instead tucked them beneath her and leaned towards him.

"I am sorry, for all of the pain you have had to endure to get to where you are now. I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that. I'm sorry for any pain I caused you. I know you won't admit that you were hurt when you came out of Mayfield and I did everything possible to push you away, to keep myself from getting hurt, but I know you were hurt, and I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry for everything, shutting you out, Lucas, being a so controlling the first time around, leaving you instead of helping you through your relapse."

It was all hitting her at once, everything she had ever regretted doing to him in the past decade, everything she hated herself for because she had caused him even more pain in his life. She was so incredibly afraid of what was to come after her surgery that every feeling, every regret she had been harboring was coming free, she was letting it all out.

"Cuddy, _it's okay_." He replied still calm, before pulling her into his lap. That was all it took for her to crack.

* * *

He stiffened for a moment as she collapsed into tears before relaxing as he kept his arms around her, and she sobbed into his shoulder.

He was actually surprised it had taken her this long to snap, he had sensed that she was on the verge of it since the second he had walked into the room after she had burned herself with the clothing iron but had almost forgotten in the whir of their conversation.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you bringing all of this up?" He asked softly, knowing that if he replied in any other tone she would most likely snap at him and cry even more, and the last thing he wanted was for her to be upset with him just a mere four days before her surgery.

"I am so scared." She said shakily. "I am so scared that something is going to happen to me and I'll either die or end up in a wheelchair and both thoughts are the most terrible things I can think of. I am so scared that I might not wake up after being put under, or that there might be some sort of complication and I'll be paralyzed. I am so scared that this will end badly and I don't want this to cause you anymore pain or to cause Rachel pain because those are my worst fears, to have both of you in pain because of me."

Her admission made his heart sink. It made him so sad that she was so afraid of what might happen to her to the point of being utterly terrified. She was never like this, she was never emotionally weak. Yes she had her moments where she was overly emotional, but he had never seen her look so defeated. Lisa Cuddy was not someone who was easily defeated, and the sight of her giving into her fear because it was so overwhelming bothered him more than words could explain. She was stronger than that, she was so much better than giving in.

"You're going to be fine." He said simply, although he himself was having doubts.

He was honestly scared out of his wits about her upcoming procedure but he couldn't tell her that. He couldn't confide his fears in her because they would only make her fears worse, and make her even more emotionally unstable than she currently was. He couldn't do that to her.

"We don't know that…Life is so full of uncertainties, we can never be sure of what is going to happen. We can't even be sure if we'll live to see tomorrow. One day we're here, the next we're not and it terrifies me."

"Stop thinking about things like that, it's a terrifying thought, you don't need to this right now Cuddy, it'll put you even more on edge before your surgery."

He watched as she took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself and much to his disdain failing. He sighed before positioning himself so that he had his back against the arm rest, his legs splayed out on the couch so that she was essentially lying on top of him, although half of her body was between him and the back of the couch, her legs between his own and her head resting against his chest. He ran his hand along her back, rubbing his thumb over the spot where the mass was, a part of him relieved that it was going to be gone within four days' time.

Cuddy's breathing slowed and he felt the rise and fall of her chest against his. He couldn't wait for all of this to be over, to have her back to the way she was before. He wanted to see her happy and healthy, the way she had been before her diagnosis five months ago. He wanted the glow to return to her cheeks, the dark circles beneath her eyes to disappear, he just wanted it to all to go back to the early days of their marriage when they were on their honeymoon without a care in the world but each other.

But sometimes, you can't always get what you want and he was well aware of that.

When House awoke almost three hours later he was hit with an intense burning sensation coming from his mangled thigh. Cuddy was still asleep on top of him and he was trying his best to knee the heel of his hand into the ailing muscle without disturbing her. He was failing miserably at it. He felt her stir and before long she was awake and removing herself from her position on top of him.

"Here, let me help." She said sleepily, pulling his legs onto her lap as she sat down on the couch.

He let her without protest, wincing as she worked her fingers into the aching muscle of his leg, the pain sending jolt through him, causing him to growl.

"I'm sorry." She replied, continuing to massage his leg.

"Don't be, you're not doing anything wrong." He winced again. "Making it bearable." He finished rubbing his thumb against his thigh.

She rubbed his leg for another several minutes, and he sighed as the pain was somewhat alleviated, at least enough for him to stand. He pulled his feet out of her lap before groaning as he stood. He reached out a hand for her to take.

"Come on, let's go to be."

She took it, and together they made their way back to their bedroom.


	48. Times Like These

_I promised to you all that I would post this chapter as soon as it was finished, and I promised to myself that I would post it as soon as I was 1/3 into the next chapter. Well I finished this one this morning, and am now 1/3 into the next chapter. As promised, things are happening. Enjoy.  
_

* * *

She was so nervous she felt sick. Completely and utterly sick. She could feel herself shaking as she lay in bed. It was four am and she had yet to sleep. Her surgery wasn't scheduled until two, giving her the majority of the morning to prep things at home, make sure Rachel was okay at her sister's for the day, and that the interim dean was had started off alright.

She stiffened as she felt House wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against him. She felt his mouth against her neck and relaxed against him. She knew what he wanted, and she was glad for the sudden distraction.

His hands roamed her curves before he pulled her hips back against his own causing her to feel his bulging erection against her ass. She reached down, slipping a hand beneath her night gown and pulling her panties off. She gasped as she felt his hands against her heat, the pad of his thumb rubbing against her clit. She reached behind her, wrapping her arm around his neck as his lips continued to roam her neck, her hips rocking against his hand.

He flipped her onto her back, causing her to emit a gasp of surprise. He pressed his lips against hers and continued to rub her, one hand holding her against the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the current sensations he was causing her body to produce, grateful that she had taken up his silent offer. She released her hold on his neck and reached between them, groping him through his boxers. She placed her hands on the waist line of his boxers before yanking them down, releasing his cock. Running her fingers along his shaft, she wrapped her arm around him before guiding him towards her entrance. He grabbed her legs at the thigh and wrapped them around his waist, pulling her to him as their bodies became one.

Her ankles met at the small of his back, locking in place as he pulled out of her before thrusting into her again at a different angle. She moaned as she felt the tip of his cock slide against her walls, tightening around him at the sensation. She pulled off his shirt and kissed his chest as he moved within her, her toes curling as he increased his pace, her body showing signs of heading towards orgasm as she dug her nails into his lean shoulders, her back arching into him and gasping as he hit her in just the right spot. He hooked an arm around her waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder as she climaxed, her body quivering beneath his and her breath coming in short huffs as her heart pounded within her chest.

Cuddy brought her lips to House's, reaching a hand between their bodies and massaging his testicles, the other hand giving his ass a squeeze. She pulled at his lips, emitting small whimpers as he built her up again, his thrusts small yet tantalizing. She heard his breath hitch and felt him tense as he slowed his pace before picking it up again. She could feel his panting against her lips and she closed her eyes as she moved a hand behind his neck and holding him there, their foreheads pressed together. She rocked her hips upwards in a circular motion and he groaned, thrusting up into her. She gasped as she moved against him, both panting from the exertion. His hands moved down to her waist and pulled her against him. She pressed her lips against his as they both climaxed simultaneously.

He collapsed on top of her, her breasts serving as a cushion for his head.

"Thank you for that." She said softly, her fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

"Thanking me for sex? This is new." He replied, rubbing his thumb against her stomach.

"You knew I needed the distraction, something to release some of the tension."

"Yeah, I totally wasn't just horny at all." He replied jokingly.

She shook her head yawning, her mind clear and her body less tense than it had been. She felt him slide off of her and beside her and turned to face him, taking one of his hands in her own. Within seconds she was asleep.

* * *

The moment she fell asleep he let his barrier fall and the feeling of unease immediately filled him. If something went wrong… He couldn't even bare to think of how he would react if he lost her. He had already lost her once, and he had resorted to drugs, alcohol, and meaningless sex in attempt to alleviate his pain and failed. If that was what he had done when their relationship had ended for a brief amount of time, what would he do if death claimed her, taking her from him for good? He couldn't be self-destructive; he now had Rachel to think of. How would he be able to raise their five year old without Cuddy? Rachel may have adored him but he knew that the little girl adored her mother more than anything in the world. How would he be able to cope with this own grief and hers as well?

He needed to stop thinking so pessimistically, but it was a part of who he was. No matter how happy they currently were, the pessimism was always there in the corner of his mind, waiting for something to come up and spur the darkest part of his mind into action, creating the worst case scenarios. He would never be at ease with happiness or contentment in his life.

The sun was starting to rise and his leg was starting to ache. He sighed before moving a hand to Cuddy's face and rubbing his thumb against her cheek for a moment before kissing her forehead and holding onto the bedside table. He stood, gripping his thigh and limped into the bathroom shutting the door behind him. He limped towards the tub and turned the faucet, the steam from the scalding water quickly beginning to fill the bathroom. He waited until the tub was full before stripping and carefully sliding in. He sat in water for several minutes, attempting to clear his mind by tapping his fingers against his legs as if playing a melody on his precious piano.

His mind immediately cleared as he closed his eyes, picturing the notes fluttering by against the staff, the scales changing from F minor to G major within the change of a beat, the tempo changing from _adagio_ to _allegro_, the time signature morphing from four/four time to five/eight time. He kept at it until the water chilled, the throbbing in his leg long forgotten. He stood and drained the tub before running the shower head and scrubbing himself clean.

When he emerged from the bathroom , his skin pruned and wrinkled from the water, the sun was shining bright into the bedroom. He squinted at the clock as he shielded his eyes from the light. It was seven – thirty. He limped over to the window and closed the curtains, shutting out the light. He turned at the sound of the door opening, and Rachel letting out an excited yell.

"_Mooooooooom!_"

"Rach! SHHHHHHHHHH!" He scolded, ushering her out of the room.

"Sorry." Rachel replied, bouncing excitedly.

"Your mom needs to sleep in today, alright kid?"

"Okay."

"Did you brush your teeth yet?"

"Yes sir!" She giggled.

"Let me check." He replied, unsure of her validity. He bent over until he was a few inches away from her face and she blew a puff of air towards him. He nodded, the scent of peppermint toothpaste hitting him. "Atta girl." He praised, ruffling her hair. "Come on, let's make some breakfast."

He made Rachel the chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes he knew she loved with a side of hash browns and bacon. He didn't make anything for himself; he wasn't good with nerves and a full stomach, at least that's what he told himself, but somewhere in his subconscious he didn't want to eat because he felt it was the only thing he could for Cuddy at the moment. Surgery required a twelve to eight hour fast and if she was going to have to endure that and the pain of post op as well, the least he could do is fast with her.

* * *

Cuddy awoke surprised and disappointed to find the bed empty. She sitting up, she stretched before taking a hot shower. She let the water run along her tense muscles, hoping that it would loosen the knots within her upper back and shoulders. Much to her dismay it didn't. She signed as she stepped out of the shower, a chill running down her spine.

She walked back into the bedroom and sat at the edge of the bed, taking a moment to herself before dressing.

She quietly entered the kitchen, kissing the top of Rachel's head before wrapping her arms around House who stood at the sink. She leaned her head against his back, her palms flat against his chest. She sighed as he took her hands in his own.

"Morning." She heard him say in a low tone.

"Hi." She replied softly, turning him to face her. "Get dressed so we can drop Rachel off at Julia's for the night."

She watched him go, and turned her attention to Rachel.

"Hey Rach, come on, let's go get dressed."

She walked over to where her daughter was currently seated and picked her up, kissing her cheek and leading them into the bedroom. She helped Rachel dress, and when they were finished she made sure that Rachel's overnight bag had everything she needed in it, from spare clothing to the stuffed dog House had gotten her the previous year in New York.

"Rachel," She said as she squatted down in front of her daughter. "Mommy is going to the hospital to have her back fixed, because mommy is sick, and this will make her better. I want you to know that whatever happens, I love you more than anything in the world."

"More than I love Glee?"

"More than you love Glee honey." She chuckled, embracing the little girl.

"I love you more than Glee too mommy." Rachel replied, kissing her cheek.

She held her for a moment, not knowing whether this would be the last time she was going to hold her little girl. When she released her, she wiped at her eyes quickly, cursing herself for getting emotional in front of her daughter.

"Come on, let's go."

The ride to Julia's took a little over a half hour.

"You coming inside?" She asked House as he pulled into the driveway. He turned his head to her and raised an eyebrow, his answer written across his features. "I'll be back in five. Come on Rachel."

She got out of the car before opening Rachel's door and helping her out. She draped Rachel's backpack over her shoulder and took her hand as they walked up to the door together. She rang the doorbell, the sound of barking and the yells of her nephews filling the air. She pulled her jacket closer around her as the November air hit her.

"Hey!" Julia greeted as she opened the door letting them in.

"Hi Aunt Julia!" Rachel replied hugging her aunt's midsection.

"Hi baby! Go ahead and go play with the boys, they're excited to have you here."

Cuddy watched as Rachel ran off to play with her cousins.

"Hey Jules."

"Hey… You nervous?"

"Extremely… Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it?"

"I need you to promise me that you're going to be there for Rachel and House if something happens to me…"

"Nothing is going to happen to you."

"Promise me."

"Okay, whatever, I promise. Are you happy now?" Her sister asked pulling her into a hug.

"Yes."

"I love you sis. I'll be by to see you tomorrow if you're well enough alright?"

"Okay. I love you too." She said as they pulled apart before waving as she walked out.

"Huh, five minutes on the dot. Great internal clock you got there Cuddles."

"Yeah, guess so."

* * *

House watched Cuddy's skin pale as he pulled into PPTH's parking lot. He himself was nervous, his stomach having dropped as he had turned onto the familiar street. He waited for a moment, allowing her collect herself before getting out of the car.

"Any day now…"

He watched as she glared at him.

"Okay, let's go."

They got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the hospital. They walked in silence to patient check in, where she was immediately checked in due to the fact that he had gone behind her back and filed out her paperwork beforehand.

"What did I tell you about special treatment?" She groaned when they were left alone in her room.

"Nothing?" He lied.

"Shut up and help me get this on will ya?" She instructed handing him the hospital gown as she started to strip off her clothing.

"I can't believe I won't be able to touch you for almost two months." He said thinking out loud as he watched her. The idea of having to turn to masturbation for two months was enough to cause his chest a physical ache.

"You'll find a way to cope. I'll find a way to help you out once I can get out of bed. Don't act like you'll be the only one suffering." She replied turning her back to him.

He took the ties and tied her hospital gown shut before giving her a sharp slap to the ass. He chuckled as she jumped before turning back to face him.

"Hmph, the last time you'll be able to do that for who knows how long."

He was caught off guard when she reached up on her tip toes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head against his shoulder.

"I love you."

He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and embracing her, not being able to bring himself to say the words back.

Two hours later he was sitting beside her in pre-op waiting for her to be taken in to surgery. He wondered if she was thinking about the last time they had been in this same position and how he had physically been there for her without mentally being there. He felt her grab onto his hand, pulling him from his thoughts.

"I know this has been hard for you too." She said softly, running her thumb along the back of his hand. "And if something was to go wrong, and you were to… you know… You'll have my support. This won't be like the first time around…I won't run from you when you need me like I did then…We'll get through it together."

He nodded, being unable to speak in fear of sounding emotional. He was honestly completely terrified of what would happen if something went wrong. He didn't know how he would react, if he would turn towards the drugs again to deal with his pain, to attempt to numb his emotions or if he would flee, or shut himself down entirely until he knew she would be okay. He was terrified in losing her for good, and the fear itself put his emotions on edge.

One of the nurses came to take Cuddy into surgery and he stood, holding her hand for as long as he could before they reached the door that would separate them. He kissed her, running a hand thru her hair as she smiled up at him.

"I'll see you in a few hours."

* * *

The perks of being on call while a close friend was in surgery meant that if things were going slow, Wilson could spend the down time doing as he pleased, which as he sat in the observation deck with House was exactly what he was doing.

Cuddy had been in surgery for over two hours and everything had been going well so far. Stover and his team were currently in the process of removing the mass. Usually it was something that would take less than two hours; one hour to go in and another to remove the mass and close the patient up, but because the mass was so close to the spinal cord it could take up to six hours as a precautionary measure.

He watched from the corner of his eye as House impatiently tapped his cane against his foot, his good leg bouncing.

"I've never seen you this nervous." Wilson said as he sat down beside him. "It's cute you're so nervous. Look at you. Never thought I'd see the day where you'd visibly show your worry for someone other than yourself. Must have finally become a man. Congrats." He teased, trying to release some of the visible tension in his best friend's body.

"Shut up." House replied, standing and beginning to pace the room.

"She'll be fine House."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

* * *

Four hours, forty minutes, and twenty – five seconds. That is how long he had been waiting in the observation deck. Every ticking of the clock made him more impatient as time wore on. Wilson had left an hour ago having been paged to the ER.

"I brought you some coffee."

He turned, finding Thirteen in the door way holding two cups of coffee. She walked over to him and handed him one, producing a few packets of sugars from her lab coat and handing them to him.

"Thanks." He mumbled taking the coffee and setting it down on the bench.

"Mass removed yet?"

"Mostly."

"Great."

He grunted in acknowledgement.

"Everyone's been sitting in the outer office. Even Taub... I'll let them know."

He heard the door shut and sat down, leaving the coffee ignored. He was still fasting, honestly not in the mood to eat or drink anything.

He watched as the procedure continued, impatiently waiting for it to end.

Several minutes passed before he noticed that something was wrong. Everyone in the OR was rushed, he could see Stover quickly instructing the nurses of what he needed. His heart rate increased as he watched the occurrence below. Not knowing what was happening was driving him insane. He paced the observation deck, trying to keep his mind off of things as they got it under control. It wasn't working. He limped out of the observation deck and downstairs towards the doors of the OR.

"Hey, hey. It's okay." Wilson said as he stopped him at the door.

"What the hell happened?"

"They're getting the situation under control. She's going to be fine."

Just as Wilson spoke, Stover exited the OR.

House's heart sank as the surgeon approached his expression severe.

"Drs. House, Wilson. There were some complications. Dr. Cuddy's blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level. We were able to finish the procedure before it got too bad but only time will tell if she's going to be okay. We're going to keep her intubated, incase she's having trouble breathing. Give her a few hours to wake up, if she's not conscious my midnight…the complications could stem deeper than what they appear."

"Are you telling me…"

"She may not wake up."

It was two am when he did it. He thought it would numb him emotionally; it didn't. So he took another and waited.

He thought that taking vicodin would give him the high he needed to feel nothing, no emotional pain. He thought it would give him the detachment from the situation he needed to somehow be able to cope with the situation; it didn't and he hated himself. He hated himself for being so weak, and for turning to the drug, as if were his crutch.

He was an addict and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, to put it behind him, he would always be an addict. But there was something different this time around. The drugs didn't give him the feeling they gave him in the past. Two Vicodin would have him buzzing, a third would have him flying. But the two he had taken had no effect on him. Cleary his body had built up an immunity to them, but that didn't change the disgust he felt for himself.

He stood from his position on the floor of his office, making his way back up to Cuddy's room. He had only left the room because Wilson had called Julia and Arlene. Julia had come down right away, Arlene would wait until morning. After not leaving Cuddy's side Wilson and Julia combined had double teamed him and forced him to get some time alone, the worst thing that could possibly happen.

He entered the room, automatic door sliding open. His sister-in-law was dozing in one of the chairs. He shook her, a little harder than he intended to but not caring.

"Hm?"

"Go home, get some sleep. Make sure Rachel's okay, come back in the morning."

"She's my sister."

"She's my wife. Go home. If she wakes up within the next few hours, I'll call you."

He watched as she reluctantly stood, stretching and grabbing her coat before stopping and kissing the top of Cuddy's head.

When she left he dragged the chair as close as possible to the bed and dropped down into it. He watched her for what seemed like hours.

She was so pale, the tube in her throat making her look so unlike herself. He couldn't believe that the woman in front of him was Cuddy. He reached forward and took her hand in his, running his left hand through her hair.

"You don't know how much you mean to me…How important you are to me…I love you _so much._" He was speaking softly, his voice void of its usual gruff demeanor. He had never been completely emotionally raw with her and he hated himself for doing it when she couldn't acknowledge it.

"You make me better…I need you in my life, you're supposed to be here. You're not…You're not supposed to die first."

His voice cracked as he spoke, and that was when he lost it. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had cried. He wasn't the type of person who cried. It was a weakness, and he hated showing weakness. But as he sat there with the woman who meant more to him than life itself dying before his eyes, he couldn't contain his emotions.

"You're not supposed to die first, I am. I'm supposed to die from the drug abuse or get hit by a bus, or get shot by another family member of a patient. This isn't how it's supposed to be." He cleared his throat, running his thumb along her face.

"I know I've done a lot of shitty things to you, but dying would be the worst pay back _ever._ Come on Cuddy, just… wake up ok? _Please_."

* * *

_Leave your concerns in your reviews, I can't wait to hear what you have to say. _


	49. Mercy

_Wow, thank you all so much for your reviews on the last chapter. I really appreciate the feedback, it makes me happy and it gives me more inspiration to write! Thank you so much for your support in this story, it means the world to me, it really does. I would have updated sooner, but I had a bit of writer's block writing this chapter, and actually had written a completely different chapter, and then wrote this one which proved to be the better one of the two. Anyway, just a few things to say before you can read it. School starts up again on the 20th, which means I'll have a lot less time to write and updates will take longer. I also have to finish one of my virtual school classes by then, so from now on my time online is dedicated to that class, so the next update won't be as frequent as the last ones. Also, there is one more major story arch before this story comes to a close. Originally, it wasn't supposed to surpass 50 chapters, but clearly things went in a different direction. LOL That's all I have to say, so now you can finally read! Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! x_

* * *

She could hear him speaking. He wasn't speaking to her like he normally did, he wasn't speaking to her in any tone he had ever spoken to her in. If it weren't for what he was saying, she wouldn't have known it was him.

He was telling her that he needed her in his life, that he loved her. She could hear him saying that she made him better. His voice sounded so _different_. It was so soft…so _vulnerable_. She could hear the raw emotions in his voice as he spoke to her. She could even hear the hitches in his breath that indicated that he was crying.

_House_ was crying. The man she had never seen react in such a manner to his emotional distress was _crying_. She willed herself to open her eyes. When she finally did the first thing she saw was House sitting in a chair beside her, one of her hands in his own, his head bowed. His attention was focused on the fingers of her right hand, running his own along hers. She watched as he pulled her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips against her knuckles.

She took it as the opportunity to let him know she was conscious. She pulled her hand from his and held it across his cheek. She saw him look at her, disbelief written across his features before he smiled. She pointed at the tracheal tube, knowing that fighting against it would do her no good and the best she could do was wait for him to take it out. He did and she took a deep breath, glad to be free of it.

She focused her attention back on House, who was sitting beside her again, his expression still showing his shock.

"I thought…You…"

"Shhh….shhh." She cooed, waving her left hand at him to silence him. He leaned his head forward, resting it against her thighs and she ran her left hand through his hair. She could feel him physically shaking against her and it killed her to see him break like this because of her.

She bit her lip, holding back her own tears. The past five months had been focused solely on her. She had never realized that he was hurting as well. She let herself go, grateful that the ordeal would soon be long behind them.

He pulled away from her and she got a good look at him. His eyes were red, his pupils were dilated. If he had taken vicodin, she didn't care. She wouldn't leave him, wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Did you …?" She asked attempting to speak, her voice cracking from the lack of use.

He stood reached over to the bedside table and filled a glass of water before handing it to her. Her hand shook as she brought the glass to her lips, taking a gulp before handing it back to him. She knew his lack of response to her question was response enough.

"I'm not mad." She said softly, reaching for his hand.

"It didn't help." He murmured almost inaudibly. "There was no numbness, no high, didn't stop me from breaking down like a little bitch. It wasn't worth it."

She could hear the brutal honest in his voice and she knew he meant every word of what he was saying.

"I heard some of the things you said…I'm…I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise that. We're both going to be around for another thirty years to make up for the twenty that we lost. We'll be fine."

She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry." He replied.

"It's okay House, you don't have to apologize. Now do you mind telling me what happened?"

"Your blood pressure plummeted. They finished the procedure and closed you up before things got too bad. They stabilized your BP and Stover informed us that if you didn't wake up by midnight the chances were you wouldn't wake up at all. Julia and Wilson forced me out of here at around two, I went down to the pharmacy stole two vicodin and the rest… You know where I'm going with this."

She nodded.

She honestly couldn't bring herself to care. She was alive, he was there beside her, and that was all she needed at the current moment. There was no need for anger.

"Go back to sleep." House said softly, clearly still shaken.

Cuddy reached for his hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles.

"Only for you."

* * *

The relief he felt when she pulled her hand away from his and pressed it against his cheek was indescribable. He had been so desperate when she was unconscious; franticly trying to keep himself together until he had reached his breaking point.

He watched her sleep, feeling uplifted that she was alive. Only time would tell if she would be well. He waited until she had fallen asleep before slipping into the bathroom to call Wilson.

"Hello?" Wilson answered after several rings. House had clearly awoken him; he had no idea what time it was.

"…You were right…She's fine." He breathed into his cellphone.

"Thank god." Wilson replied, letting out a relieved sigh.

"God has nothing to do with this, but ok. She woke up about a half hour ago, we had a brief conversation, I told her what happened, then I told her to go back to sleep."

"Did you also tell her you relapsed?"

"How did you know?" House asked, caught completely off guard by Wilson's comment.

"Your pupils were dilated when you came back. I was around you for over ten years when you were on drugs, I know when you're high."

"I didn't get a high."

"How many did you take?"

"Two."

"Did you tell her?"

"Yeah, she knows."

"Good. I'm going back to sleep now. I'll be around after noon."

"Bye."

House sent Julia a quick text message, not wanting to hear her voice for several minutes over the phone, telling her that Cuddy was fine and to pass the message along to their mother. He walked out of the bathroom and dropped into the recliner besides Cuddy's bed. He pulled the lever, popping out the footrest and he lifted his legs onto it. His thigh had started to ache sometime after he had taken the vicodin but he had ignored it; he had had more important things to focus on than himself. Now though he rubbed at the damaged muscle with both of his hands, gritting his teeth as a flare of pain rippled through it.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bottle of ibuprofen and swallowed two pills. He rested his head back against the head of the recliner, waiting for sleep to consume him.

He hadn't slept in over twenty hours not having been able to sleep with Cuddy unconscious and in the danger zone. Now that she was awake, and alright for the time being he was finally allowing himself to rest. He was so goddamned tired for the events of the day and was grateful that it was over and everything was well. He was drained both physically and emotionally from the stress of the day, and sleep was well received.

* * *

Wilson left his apartment around two, thankful to have the day off. He took the elevator up to the fourth floor ICU and headed towards Cuddy's room.

The blinds were open, giving him permission to enter. He slipped through the automatic door and walked over to Cuddy's beside.

"Hey." He said softly, giving her forehead a quick peck.

"Hi." She said softly.

He could tell that she was still tired, her eyes having bags beneath them and her skin still tinted a sickly hue. He smiled sadly at her before dropping down into the chair beside the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, I feel like shit…but it'll be worth it in the end."

"You'll be cancer free. That's all that matters in the end."

He was honestly grateful that this entire ordeal would soon be over for his friends. He had watched them struggle for the past five months because of it, not even having been able to enjoy the honeymoon period of their marriage because of their misfortune.

"I'm going down to the cafeteria." House announced standing and stretching his arms. "Do you need anything?"

"Can you bring me a ginger ale?" Cuddy replied softly.

"Sure thing."

Wilson watched as House scooped down and gave Cuddy a quick peck on the lips. They may have their arguments, and he had been the mediator of plenty of them, but there was no denying that there was unconditional love between the two.

"You want anything Jimmy?"

"Nah, I'm good."

He and Cuddy both watched as House exited the room. He waited a bit before opening his mouth to speak, in case House would return, but Cuddy spoke before he had the chance.

"He relapsed."

"I know."

"The funny thing is…we had discussed it while I was in pre-op…I had told him I wouldn't be mad if he did, that I would be there for him if he did, and at the time I didn't even know if I was telling the truth."

"Well?"

"I'm not mad. I _can't _be mad at him. He has been so uncharacteristically patient throughout all of this, how could I get mad at him over something as small as relapsing? I can't make the same mistake I made the first time. I can't let him go because of a lapse of judgment. He says he won't do it again and I believe him. If I had believed him the first time around, I probably wouldn't be laying in this hospital bed. I can't change the past, but I can make sure that it doesn't repeat itself."

"I'm glad. I've watched you two suffer enough at your own hands and at the hands of each other. Whether it be intentionally or unintentionally. I mean, you're married now, but you're still going to fight and you're both still going to come to me about it, but ultimately, it'll all turn out alright. Regardless of what happens you two will be alright because you're both well aware that what you have is worth fighting for, or else you wouldn't have made it this far."

"Why is it that you're giving me these great words of wisdom about how my relationship is worth fighting for yet you've been divorced three times?"

"The world works in strange ways." He mustered, smiling at his close friend.

* * *

"Mommy!" Rachel cried the moment she stepped into the room.

Cuddy smiled as her daughter ran towards her, Julia and their mother trailing behind.

"Ay." House said, stopping her before she could jump onto the bed and picking her up. "I'm gonna sit you up on your mom's bed, but you have to be extra careful okay? They cut open her back, and it hurts her, even though she says it doesn't, she's lying. So be careful ok?"

"Ay, ay captain!" Rachel replied in understanding.

Cuddy let out a tired chuckle before reaching out to House. She smiled as he set Rachel down on the bed and she pulled her into her arms.

She had come so close to never seeing her daughter again and was grateful to have her in her arms again.

"How did she behave?" She asked as Julia kissed the top of her head in greeting.

"She was great, as usual. A little hyper, but when is she not?"

"We watched movies!" Rachel explained, leaning into Cuddy's side.

"That's great baby." She replied, enjoying her daughter's presence.

She was tired, but she wasn't going to let that from spending time with her family. They were all she had in the end, even when she didn't have her health.

"I swear to god, if you ever scare me like that again Lisa Christine Cuddy, I will kill you myself." Arlene mumbled, before kissing her cheek.

Cuddy reached for her mother's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, laughing softly at her comment.

"I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon Ma. I promise."

She yawned, resting her head back against the pillow and closing her eyes for a moment.

"We better get going. You need your rest. We'll see you in a few days." Julia commented.

"No, no. It's fine really. You've just gotten here."

"Your sister's right Lisa, you need your rest. Rachel come on, you're coming home with Grandma tonight. You can play with the puppy."

"Since when do you have a dog mom?"

"Since last week. You might want to invest in one, well another seeing as you've already got this schmuck." Arlene quipped, gesturing towards House.

"Maybe." Cuddy replied, kissing Rachel's cheek and giving her one last hug. "I'll see you in a few days honey. Behave for your grandmother okay?"

"Yes Momma. I love you!" Rachel squeaked, kissing Cuddy's nose.

"I love you too baby."

She watched as they left, yawning once more.

"Don't go to sleep yet, I sense your second favorite oncologist will be appearing in three…two…"

The automatic doors slid open and Stover entered the room, files in hand.

" , glad to see you're conscious, gave everyone quite the scare last night."

"So I was told."

"Other than the complication with your blood pressure, the surgery went well. The mass was completely removed. Just here to check that you can still feel and use your lower extremities."

"I can." She replied, demonstrating by wiggling her toes.

"Just because you can use them, doesn't always mean you can feel." Stover replied, pulling out a needle and pulling the blanket away from her feet.

"This should be good." House said, sitting up in his recliner, clearly amused.

Cuddy did her best not to pull her foot away when Stover ran the needle along the bottom of her right foot and then left. He checked her reflexes, tapping her kneecaps until they reacted.

"Everything seems good. How's the pain?"

"I'm still numb from the anesthetic and whatever pain medication you've got me on." She replied.

She had only felt a few sharp pains in her incision area, other than that she had been fine so far.

"Good, good. Now, you can be discharged on Sunday, then I'll have you come back in for some blood tests in a week or so. When those results come back, we'll know if we can start you back up on the final round of chemo or if you'll have to go through radiation."

"Alright. Thank you for stopping by." She replied as Stover nodded.

"It's my job Dr. Cuddy. If you have any concerns, just let me know."

* * *

"You, _my dear _are in the clear." House stated as he leaned back into the recliner. There was no way in hell that after everything Cuddy's blood test results would come back with the lesser of the two outcomes.

"Your dear? Who are you and what have you done with Gregory House?"

"Don't like the terms of endearment _sweet cheeks_?" He teased, throwing another one at her.

"Not from my husband I don't. Unless it's during sex, and even then it's limited to the words 'baby' and 'babe'." She replied matter of factually.

"Touché…So you're being discharged the day after tomorrow. You should be feeling ecstatic."

"I actually am. I love the hospital when I'm not a patient. I hate being confined to a hospital bed, I hate the uncertainty of being here as a patient."

"You're going to hate being confined to a bed at home too."

"I won't be confined at home though; I'll be able to move about the house and what not. I think I'll be okay there."

"And if you get bored you could always have a little fun with yourself and put it on video for me…"

"Haha, in your dreams buddy." She smacked him lightly in the arm before yawning.

"Looks like it's someone's bed time." He badgered, letting out a chuckle. "Go to sleep."

"And you call me bossy." She pouted, carefully turning onto her side so that she was facing him.

"Good night Cuddy."

"Good night House."

* * *

_Thoughts? _


	50. Home Life

_Wow, how in the world did we get to 50 chapters? Holyf... it seems like yesterday that I started writing this, and the truth is it's been almost a year and a half. Wow. Thank you to all of you who have stuck around throughout that time and have given me your support with your reviews. It has and always will mean the world to me. Here's the next chapter; some happier times after all that angst. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!_

* * *

Cuddy was discharged the Sunday before Thanksgiving. She winced as House helped her stand from the wheelchair she had occupied and into the car. She was thankful that she wouldn't have to be in a sitting position for too long; the pillow behind her was doing nothing to relieve the pain caused by having to sit up.

"I'm taking this week off." House stated as he pulled out of the hospital's parking lot.

"You don't have to do that…I can handle on my own."

"Cuddy you can barely walk without wincing. It's not a problem for me, I don't have a case, and you and I both know I haven't used any vacation time since our wedding."

He was right. The pain from the incision made to her lower back left her in unbearable pain that it hurt to move majority of the time. She also knew that after the entire ordeal he too deserved some time off, especially if he had no reason to be at work.

"Fine." She said softly.

"Rachel's not going to school either… She's only got two whole days this week anyway, they have early dismissal Wednesday because of the holiday weekend. She won't be missing anything. It'll be just the three of us for a few days."

"You want to spend time as a family." She said the grin on her face evident in her tone of voice. "That's completely fine with me."

"Don't try to make this into something corny. You almost died, is it so bad that I think the two most important people in your life should get to have you to themselves for a week before I have to go back to work, Rachel has to go back to school, and you're stuck being alone here for another three weeks?"

"You just need to admit that you do have a soft side House. It's one of your redeeming qualities." She teased, reaching over and pulling his right hand into hers.

"Gregory House does not have a soft side." He replied, running his thumb against the back of her hand.

"Yeah, okay then. Whatever you say."

She laughed not even minding the sharp stab of pain that shot through her as she did so. It was worth the small smile that had flashed across House's lips.

* * *

House ran his fingers along Cuddy's upper arm as they sat in bed together, Rachel situated between the two, her head in her mother's lap and her feet in his. They'd been in that position for over three hours, a _Doctor Who _marathon having been on. He hated to admit it but he enjoyed watching the children's show with them; it was his way of spending time with them.

When the show was on during the current television season they would sit on the couch and watch the new episodes together. He never thought he would see the day where he would be watching television with a family. _His _family.

He had never expected himself to have a family with anyone. Considering how broken his own family had been, he hadn't even known if he had wanted one. But as he sat there genuinely enjoying the company of his two favorite ladies, he couldn't be anything other than gratified.

They watched in a comfortable silence as The Doctor and his current companion Clara encountered a Weeping Angel. House chuckled darkly as Rachel bolted up right at the sudden change in the statue's expression, nestling herself between he and Cuddy.

"Rachel, baby it's okay. They're not real. Statues don't move." Cuddy cooed reassuringly, kissing the top of Rachel's head as she cowered between them, hands over her eyes.

"Yeah kiddo, listen to your mom she knows everything. Weeping Angels aren't real. Come on, uncover your eyes." He said, opting for once to not make the situation worse. He tugged at a lock of the little girl's hair, hoping to get her to budge.

When it didn't work, he did the first thing that came to mind. He reached for her sides and started tickling her.

He didn't tickle her often, only when she was visibly upset and in his presence, which was rare seeing as the little girl was always bubbly and happy. Normally he would have found that increasingly annoying, but because she was Rachel and he had grown to love her as his own, she was the exception.

"Daddy, stop!" The little girl giggled as he continued to tickle her, her hands finally leaving her eyes as she struggled to fight him off.

"Are you still going to be a wimp and be scared?" He asked, still tickling her.

"No!" She squeaked.

"Good." He replied releasing her and ruffling her hair.

"Who'd have ever thought, that it'd be you to make me this happy." Cuddy sighed as she leaned into him.

House pulled her closer against his side and rested his head on top of hers.

"No one. But who cares, we proved him wrong."

"That we did."

* * *

"You didn't."

"I did."

"Oh my god House."

"Oh my god Cuddy."

She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed at his condescending tone before turning back to the white ball of fur currently in his arms.

"You bought a dog."

"I bought a dog."

"You bought a dog without asking me if I was okay with it."

"I could take him back." House replied, inching towards the door.

"No!" She responded, sounding too excited for her own liking. "Give him here."

She reached out her arms, watching as he limped towards her, smirking at her clear approval of his decision.

She took the puppy from him as he sat beside her, laughing softly as dog burrowed against her chest seeking warmth.

"Where did you get him?"

"Bought him. Little fucker cost almost a grand, but I figured you and Rachel would like him so."

"Why?"

"Don't want you to be alone during the day while you're recovering when Rachel's at school and I'm at work."

She leaned forward and kissed him, letting out a small moan as he pulled her against him.

"House we can't." She groaned pulling away. Her back was still in no condition for such strenuous activities. She turned her attention back to the ball in her arms, one of her hands playfully swatting at his paws as the pup attempted to nip at her fingers.

"Can't wait till we can." He grumbled before reaching over and petting the dog. "We need to name him, and don't pick anything generic or fluffy." He continued, and she could already see the gears turning in his head as he thought of a man.

One of her favorite things about him was watching as his mind at work. After all these years it never failed to amaze her when he got that far off look in his eyes.

"What about Sherlock?"

"Not manly enough."

She raised an eyebrow, surprised at how he could find the name of the greatest detective in the history of literature unmanly.

"What? It's true. Think something along the lines of mythology. Or maybe we should name him after a monster truck…"

"We're not naming our dog Grave Digger. We're not rednecks…What about Zeus?"

"Hm, godly, like me. That works. Nice choice. Anyway, I'm going to go pick Rachel up from Julia's and I'm going to pick up dinner on the way home, do you want anything?"

"It depends on where you're going to stop. Just call me from the drive thru." She replied, continuing to run her fingers thru the pup's soft fur.

House stood from the bed and she smiled when he swooped down and gave her a quick peck on the lips before limping out of the room, feeling her cheeks flush at his gesture. He had been more affectionate with her during their week at home together, but she knew that that was his way of coping with her near death experience. She enjoyed the extra attention, but she longed for when he would be himself again; his recent behavior was making her feel like a lovesick teenager.

She turned her attention back to the small ball of fur nibbling at her fingertips.

"Zeus. You are just the cutest thing. Rachel is going to love you."

* * *

House picked Rachel up from Julia's, having had a brief conversation with his sister –in – law about Cuddy's recovery. He pulled up to the drive thru at Burger King and pulled out his cellphone, dialing Cuddy's number.

"I'm at Burger King, and before you even say salad, I'm not getting you salad. You've lost over twenty pounds in the last five months, time to regain some of them."

"You know how much I don't like eating fast food." She groaned on the other line.

"Too bad. What do you want?" He asked smirking to himself at her tone of voice.

"Just don't bring me something too greasy."

"Chicken sandwich, fries, and a diet coke sound good to you?"

"Yes."

"Alright. See you in ten."

He hung up, the car in front of him having moved forward. He drove up to the speaker and ordered their meals.

Fifteen minutes later he pulled into the driveway of their shared home. He helped Rachel out of her car seat before handing her his keys, instructing her to run along in front of him and open the door so he could be able to properly carry their food inside. He grabbed the bag and their drinks before limping inside.

He entered the house, finding Cuddy curled up on the couch with Zeus, Rachel besides her giggling happily as she ran her fingers through the pup's fur.

"I bring supplements." He proclaimed, dropping the bag of food onto the coffee table as he placed the drinks beside it.

"Hopefully I don't die from heart disease for eating this." Cuddy teased, pulling out what he had gotten her.

"Shut up and eat your dinner." He replied as he dropped into the unoccupied space on the couch and propped his feet up on the table before reaching into the bag and grabbing his food.

He took one bite of his burger before Zeus was crawling into his lap and attempting to eat his food.

"What do you think you're doing mutt?" He replied, swatting the pup away before reaching into the bag and pulling out an order of chicken tenders and opening the little box and placing it beside him. He pushed the pup off of his lap and beside him on the couch, directing his snout towards the container of meat. "This is yours." He stated, taking a piece of the meat and holding it up for the dog to sniff. "Good dog." He praised when the pup carefully took it from his hand and swallowed it whole.

"House, you shouldn't be feeding him people food."

"Cuddy please, let's be realistic, you and I both know we're going to end up feeding that dog people food several times throughout the course of his life, might as well start right from the beginning." He replied, turning his attention back to his own food.

"Idiot."

"I would call you something in return, but Rachel's in the room." He smirked, looking in Cuddy's direction. "So I guess this will do." He burped loudly in her general direction and watched as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You're disgusting. Why did I marry you again?" She questioned teasingly, letting out a soft laugh.

"Because you love me, you wish you didn't, and you can't help it."

He was surprised when he watched her stand from her side of the couch and carefully stride over to his side, placing herself in his lap, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That is the wholly truth." She said softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and puller her close before she pressed his lips against his in a passionate kiss.

They were interrupted when a white ball of fluff buried itself between them. Cuddy let out a giggle as House pushed the dog onto the floor.

* * *

_In case you're wondering, the type of dog they got is a White Shepherd. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a pain to write since I'm so used to writing angst. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but seeing as I started my senior year on the 20th, and I start the first of many rehearsals up until April, it might take a while. But I will try to write in my spare time. I'm aiming for another 15 - 25 chapters to wrap this up with the final arch. Anyway, that's all for now, don't forget to leave your thoughts in a review!_


	51. Fire

_Hello lovelies! Got a bit of writing done this week, so here's an update sooner than expected! Hope you like it, I'll try to see if I can get some more writing in later on in the month!_

* * *

House was right. As he always was. If it hadn't been for the dog, she would have gone insane spending most of the day on her own. She hated not having anything to keep her busy, to give her a sense of meaning. Sitting in bed for hours on end did not suit her. So she did one of the few things she was physically capable of without ripping her stitches; play with Zeus.

"It's almost sickening how in love you are with that dog." Kat commented one afternoon after stopping by to drop off some food.

"Shut up. He's the only thing that's keeping me sane at the moment until I can go back to work next week." Cuddy retorted, rubbing the spot behind Zeus's ear and smiling as the pup let out a groan of approval.

"You do remember that the kids and I live just a few blocks away right? You could just give me a call, and we could have come over to entertain you."

"I didn't want to seem like a bother." She replied honesty. If there was something she deeply hated, it was bothering others or feeling like she was bothering them. She was rarely the one to call or even send them a simple text message to others in fear of bothering them. The only people she had no care about bothering were House, Wilson, and her sister.

"You could never be a bother to me. Hello, you helped me get over my divorce, how could you ever be a bother to me? How long have you known me know Lisa? Come on now, you may be annoying at times, but you're not a bother." Kat retorted teasingly.

Cuddy smiled at her friend's comment, knowing it was completely true.

"Okay fine. But you're going to regret saying I'm not a bother when I'm constantly calling you within the next few days to keep me entertained and away from the dog."

"Of course I will. I'll see you later."

She watched as Kat stood and grabbed her bag before waving goodbye and letting herself out. There was a small bark, and she turned her attention back to the ball of fur nestled in her lap.

* * *

The second he entered the house he was struck with an enticing aroma. He shrugged off his coat and shook some of the freshly fallen snow from his hair, leaving his cane at the door as he headed towards the kitchen. He was quiet in doing so, careful not to make any noise as to make his appearance known. He watched for a second or two as Cuddy stood beside the stove, her nose buried in a cookbook.

He smiled slightly at the sight before limping towards her and wrapping an arm around her and pulling her against him, smirking as she let out a small yelp of surprise.

"Shit, you scared me. When did you get home?" She asked turning to face him. "It's snowing?"

"Two minutes ago, and clearly it's snowing seeing as I have half melted snow in my hair. It's barely twenty degrees outside."

"Oh, well dinner's almost ready, so you can either sit at the table or wait for me to call you in the living room."

"I think I'd rather watch you attempt to cook than watch tv. So much better than television." He teased watching as she rolled her eyes.

"If you please." She replied, before leaning up on her toes and giving him a quick peck. "You know, I may or may not have some sort of surprise for you later on." She continued, winking flirtatiously

He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her, wondering what the hell she could be talking about.

"You know I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one. Maybe even love it._ I promise._" She replied turning her attention back to the pot on the stove.

House furrowed his brow in thought as he dropped into one of the black mahogany dining chairs. A surprise could only mean one of two things; good news or bad news. Good news would mean that her cancerous cell count had dropped and that she would be starting chemo soon. Bad news would be something that she would consider good and assume that he would as well, but would indeed not. The only thing that he could think of possibly being bad news would be if she were pregnant, because knowing her history and misfortune with pregnancy, it would not end well for them.

"You're not pregnant are you?"

"What the hell? No…"

"Okay, just making sure that wasn't your surprise."

"Why, do you want another kid?"

"I don't care. I'm fine with Rachel, but if you were ever to want to adopt another or use a surrogate, I'd be ok with that."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I'll keep that in mind."

He really didn't care if they had more children. He hadn't been around for Rachel's infancy, having another would mean that he would get to see the child take their first steps, and learn their first words. It would be nice, but he would never force Cuddy into adopting another child or attempt to use a surrogate.

"What are you making anyway?" He asked as he watched her sprinkle seasoning into one of the pots.

"Pasta."

"So many pots on the stove for pasta?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There are three pots, one for the pasta, one for the sauce, and one for the meat. It is _not _that many." She replied and he watched as she rolled her eyes.

"Where's the twerp?"

"Spending the night at Kate's, they're going to Dave & Buster's in the morning for Kate's birthday."

"So it's just us two tonight?"

"Well us three, if you count him."

He turned his head as she pointed behind him at the bundle of fur lying on top of a dog bed.

"Dogs don't count."

"Then I guess it's just me." She replied, giving him a wicked smile as she turned back to the stove.

"That makes zero, because a bitch is a dog as well." He rebuked quickly, smirking as she turned back to face him, her mouth slightly a gape.

* * *

They were currently sitting at the dining room table, their dinners long discarded, a plate of strawberries and two bowls of chocolate and whipped cream between them, red candles burned around them. Cuddy smirked as she ran the tip of her tongue across the strawberry she had just dipped in chocolate, watching House's eyes widen at her actions.

She took a bite of it before offering it to him, surprised when he took it from her hand using his teeth. She grabbed another one and dipped it into the chocolate, purposely allowing some to drip onto the exposed skin of her chest.

"Mind cleaning this off?" She asked teasingly as she leaned towards him, unbuttoning her blouse. She let out a soft giggle as he closed the distance between them and ran his tongue over the spot of chocolate on her chest.

He titled his head up to meet hers and she pulled his face toward hers, taking his bottom lip in hers and nipping at it slightly.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" She asked seductively, popping her blouse open to reveal part of a lingerie set he had bought for her several months earlier that she had never had a chance to use. She ran her lips along his jaw, her hands planted firmly on his chest as his hands moved down to her hips, pulling her closer against him.

She moaned when she felt his hands roam down to her ass and gave it a firm squeeze. Her hand moved down to his growing erection and she stroked him through the denim of his jeans, feeling his cock twitch beneath her hand.

She stood, pulling him with her, their lips meeting again as the fire between them grew in intensity, stumbling into the bedroom. She pushed him onto the bed, her arms wrapped around his neck as their lips never parted, their hands roaming each other's bodies as though they were unknown territory and not something they had both memorized like the back of their hands.

Cuddy reached towards the button of his jeans, undoing it and letting down the zipper in one quick fluid motion. She smirked at his erection before freeing his cock from his boxers, taking him in her hand and running her thumb over his tip. House groaned in approval and she slipped him into her mouth without warning, causing his breath to hitch.

* * *

He groaned as he felt the warmth of her mouth against his cock, his hips instinctively bucking. He loved the feeling of her mouth around him, her teeth gently grazing his sensitive nerves, her tongue running circles over the head of his penis. He slipped his hand into her curls as she bobbed her head back and forth. He could feel the vibrations from her throat as she hummed, causing him to groan again.

He watched as she continued to pleasure him, until the point where he could no longer contain himself. He pulled her away from him before he had a chance to come in her mouth and carefully flipped her onto her back, his hands hungrily pulling away her pants and underwear and throwing it over his shoulder.

He smirked as she opened her legs, granting him permission to have his way with her. He pinned her thighs down against the mattress before running his tongue along her slit, reveling in her reaction as she let out a whimper, her back arching.

"Don't hurt yourself. You've still got stitches." He breathed against her, mindful of the fact that she had only had surgery two weeks prior.

"Shut up and fuck me with your tongue." She moaned, her hand moving into his hair.

"I love a woman who knows what she wants." He replied before running his tongue over her clit. He moved one of his hands from her thigh and slipped two fingers into her as he continued to push her over the edge with his tongue.

"_Fuuuuuck_." He heard her pant above him, feeling her inner muscles clench around his fingers as he rubbed them against her walls.

"House, _please_." She gasped and he felt her body tense as she climaxed. He buried himself between her legs as she wrapped them around his head, his tongue continuing to pleasure her as she rode out her orgasm.

He pulled off his t-shirt before positioning himself above her, his hands pulling open her blouse and cupping her breasts between them.

"I don't want to hurt your back, you take control." He said seriously as he dropped down beside her, smirking when she straddled him, the feeling of the heat between her legs making his cock twitch with desire.

He unsnapped her bra, surprised that it latched in the front, and took one of her breasts into his mouth, sucking her nipple until it was taunt and hard as she moaned. He groaned as he felt her push herself back, her ass rubbing against the tip of his cock before she guided him into her.

* * *

A soft whimper escaped her as she settled herself fully onto his cock, his girth and length filling her. She carefully rocked forward, biting her bottom lip in pleasure as she felt arousal fill her entire body.

He pulled her face towards his and she smiled as he kept his hand in her hair as their lips met, the fire between them burning bright as their bodies molded together.

She let out a gasp as his hands moved down to her hips, preventing her from moving as he thrust into her, her body tensing as he hit her in all the right places. She took one of his hands in her own as they continued to kiss, their bodies pressed as close as possible. She leaned back as far as possible without breaking contact, moaning against his lips as she leaned forward again, the feeling of his cock inside her making her body ache. She could feel her heart rate increase as their pace quickened, their mixed moans filling the room.

House slipped his free hand between them and she felt his thumb against her clit, causing her to whimper in ecstasy as he pressed his thumb against her before rubbing it in circles.

Her need to climax was so overwhelming that she felt her heart would burst as they frantically worked towards their climaxes, her entire body aching with the need to find release. She desperately whimpered against his lips as she reached her breaking point, her body tensing completely and her inner walls clenching around him as she came, moaning out his name in huffed breaths.

She collapsed against him and he carefully turned them so that she was up against the pillows, mindful of her back as she grabbed his hands and let him reach his own climax.

* * *

She held his hands within her own, their fingers intertwined and he brought his lips to her neck, biting it as he thrust into her, feeling himself so close to the edge. He could still feel the pulsations of her orgasm as she recovered, and it was bringing him closer and closer.

"I love it when we're like this." He heard Cuddy murmur breathily into his ear. "I love it when you make me cum more than once, and when I get you so close while sucking you off that you have no choice but to stop me because you want to cum inside me and you know I want you inside of me. God, I've never had as –"There was a hitch in her breath as she let out a soft moan at his thrust. "As amazing a sex life, or as fulfilling a partner as I've had with you. You are the best lover a woman could ask for, and I am so lucky to be able to have you fuck me like this whenever I please."

He pressed his lips against hers, groaning as his body tensed; his orgasm hitting him at full blast. He heard her gasp and felt her body quiver beneath his as she came again, triggered by the sounds of his pleasure.

He collapsed beside her and instinctively his arm was around her waist as she entangled her legs within his own, head against his shoulder, her hair cascading onto his chest.

"Holy fuck, that was great." He stated once he had caught his breath.

"It was." He heard her reply softly beside him.

"You okay? You're not hurt or anything right?" He asked, a little put off by her response.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Not hurt at all, just tired."

"You sure?" He asked, genuinely concerned in her mood as he ran his fingers up along the side of her arm.

"Stover called today. He says I can start on the last round of chemo this week."

He watched as a tired smile spread across her features and he let out a relieved sigh.

"Good. Few more weeks and we'll be able to put all this shit behind us and be able to go back to being us."

"Finally. I'm just so glad this is all coming to an end soon. I'm so sick of being strong, and I'm so sick of being sick and weak, and not having an appetite, or not being able to eat foods I actually enjoy without having it come back up later on. I just want to live my life. If I've learned anything for this ordeal is that life is short, and you need to make the most of it."

House raised an eyebrow at her before responding.

"Make the most of it huh? And what are you going to do to do that?"

"I don't know. I know that I won't work from seven to seven anymore. I won't even work five days a week. I want to travel and experience new things."

"As long as I get to miss work, that sounds like a plan to me." He teased, kissing the top of her head.

In all seriousness though, he would do whatever she wanted if it meant she was happy. He was looking forward to seeing what sort of new experiences they would be able to go through.

* * *

_Any suggestions on what you'd like to see them try? Places to visit? Things to do? Sexual positions to try out? I mean what... hehehe Don't forget to leave a review! _


	52. About Today

_I should be alseep seeing as I have to get up for school in less than four hours, but whatever. It'll be worth it to wake up to some reviews... At least I hope I'll wake up to some reviews... Haven't gotten much lately, but as always, I appreciate the ones I do get. I'm so sorry I haven't replied to any in months, I just haven't had the time due to real life. :( Being busy sucks. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'll try to update again by the end of the month. Also, to those of you who are also Doctor Who fans, I'll be posting a Doctor/River one shot by the end of the week after the events of "The Angels Take Manhattan". Sigh, I'm such an emotional wreck over it. But anyway, I'll shut up now and let you all get to reading. Don't forget to leave a review!_

* * *

"Did you know that House brought up adoption the other day?" Cuddy asked as she sat across from Wilson in one of the booths in the hospital's cafeteria. It was Tuesday and they were having their usual biweekly lunch dates.

"What?" Wilson replied, taken aback.

"I know. It caught me completely off guard. He said that if I wanted any more kids, we could adopt or use a surrogate."

"Do you want more kids?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

She hadn't thought about wanting more children since a few months after the accident that had caused her to miscarry a year and half earlier. A part of her missed having someone who was completely dependent on her when she wasn't at home, but another part of her didn't. She didn't miss the nights she had spent awake with a screaming Rachel, but she did miss having a child who needed her to teach them simple things, or one who still got excited over little things. Rachel was six, she was trying to be as independent as possible. Maybe having another one wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"I think you and House should sit down, and talk about it."

"Talk about what?"

Cuddy looked to her left and spotted House standing just beside the table. She scooted herself over, making space for him beside her in the booth. She felt him slink his arm around her lower back, barely pulling her against him.

"Adoption, surrogacy." She said quietly as she looked up at him questioningly.

"What's there to talk about? I told you the other day, if you want another one, I don't care."

"Are you completely sure? Raising an infant isn't as easy as it is raising Rachel…"

"Cuddy, I'm not dumb. I think I can handle a screaming kid. I handle you don't I? And you're the equivalent to a screaming banshee so…" He teased, giving her a gentle nudge.

"Shut up. We'll talk about this more when we get home. Don't you have a case?" She replied, concealing her sudden excitement at the possibility of having another child.

"Already solved, team's treating her now. Went down to your office to get you to sign the files but I walked in and found no one, so I dropped them on your desk and then came here and found you two."

"Oh. Well then, move so I can go sign off on your case."

She waited for him to scoot out of the booth, rolling her eyes when he stayed put.

"House."

"What?"

"Are you going to move or?"

"Not when you're being a bossy bitch."

"I'm always a bossy bitch." She replied coolly, not even bothering to act offended by his comment.

"You two act like ten year olds who have serious crushes on each other. The funny thing is that you're worse now that you're married than you were while you were dating." Wilson commented through a mouthful of food. "It's still hard to believe that you two can be considered cute."

"Go do something useful with yourself." House barked.

"I don't understand how you two are friends. You treat Wilson like crap."

"I treat you like crap too, did you not just hear me call you a bossy bitch?"

"Point taken. Now will you move, please?" She replied, a soft smile forming on her lips as she felt him move over and scoot out of the booth.

"Thank you. See, it wasn't so difficult for you to be cooperative for once, was it?" She teased as she stood, straightening her skirt and running a hand through her hair. "Well are you coming or what?" She asked, turning after having taken a few strides forward and not having heard the tapping of House's cane against the tile of the cafeteria's floor.

"Sorry boss, just admiring one of your greatest assets." He replied cheekily, causing a low chuckle to escape her.

"Pervert." She smiled, shaking her head before continuing to head towards her office, her smile widening as she heard him behind her.

* * *

"Do you want me at your chemo session today?" He asked as soon as they were in the privacy of her office.

"Shit! I almost completely forgot that I had it today." She replied, hastily checking her wrist watch. "Okay, it's only two now. I've got another hour. Uhm, maybe you can stop by halfway through it? I mean I know how much you dislike being in there, besides now that your case is done, I'll have some sort of entertainment in Chase seeing as he's in there every so often to keep me amused. Did you know he's still in contact with Cameron?"

"Oh really? That's an interesting tidbit that I didn't know. Thanks for sharing that. Now I can use the fact that he's up his ex's ass as harassment." House replied, smirking as she rolled her eyes.

"Actually, _she _called _him_."

"Woah, doesn't seem like Cameron to come crawling back to those she's left… Oh wait… it does seem _exactly_ like her. Anyway, glad to see you and pretty boy have made quite a friendship over these past few months."

He was honestly a bit surprised at the fact that Cuddy and Chase were on a more familiar level than they had been in the past. Cuddy had told him about how Chase had had faith that he would have been there during her surgery two years prior to biopsy the mass in her kidney, but never had he thought a friendship would have blossomed from it. He was actually glad that she had someone other than himself and Wilson to entertain her. He also knew that she was quite fond of Masters, having occasional lunches with his fellow to enlighten her on what to do to get to where she wants to be in her career. Masters couldn't have chosen a better female mentor than Cuddy, and though he would never admit it, House was glad that the younger woman had someone as intelligent and tactful as Cuddy to show her the ropes.

"Well sometimes I need an unbiased opinion when it comes to situations that involve you and Wilson. It's nice to have someone to talk to who isn't actually tied to the other people in the situation. Although, technically Chase is tied to you, seeing as we both know he's your favorite, but I know that he won't go and tell you something I said while talking to him like Wilson, because he doesn't want to get involved. He just listens to me vent sometimes, and I listen to him vent. He's like a younger brother."

"More like younger bother." House quipped, circling her desk and leaning against it as she signed his case forms.

"There." She replied, holding up the file for him and he grabbed it from her hand before getting off of her desk and limping towards the door.

"I shall see you during your chemo session." He replied as he reached the door, shutting it behind him.

* * *

"If you're lying to me, I'm forcing twenty extra clinic hours onto you." Cuddy threatened through a smile.

"I'm being completely honest with you. There are these times where he suddenly goes on about how brilliant you are, and it leaves us all dumbfounded, because we had no clue that he could speak in such a positive light of someone. The other day he told Masters that she was trying too hard to be like you because it would be damn near impossible for her to get to where you are because unlike you she's afraid to bend the rules, and he went on to say that you may be insane at times but you're brilliant for being able to bend the rules to almost a breaking point and be able to get away with it because you have him as an employee, and he's the only one that you would ever bend them that far for."

"That's sweet of him. It's funny how he'll say that when I'm not around, but not in front of me. Are all you men like that? Talk about the women you love while she's not around, praise her for everything she does in front of others when she can't hear you, and then rarely acknowledge it when she's around?"

"Basically." Chase replied, cracking a smile. "We men are programmed to show admiration and love when the person we're talking about isn't there to see it. Don't ask me, I don't know why, but it's just that way for most of us. I know I would sometimes praise Cam more when she wasn't around than when she was. Sort of teased her when she was around, like House does to you."

She watched as a flicker of sadness overcame the younger doctor's green eyes, causing her to feel sympathetic towards him.

"You miss her don't you?" She asked, reaching over and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You've got no idea. You would think that after the amount of time that's passed, I wouldn't feel the same way, and for a while, I thought the feelings were gone, but when she called a few months ago… That just brought everything back. She's thinking of coming down to visit from Chicago…"

"You should see her if she does Chase. You never know what could happen. Maybe she still feels that way too, that could be why she's contacted you..."

"Yeah, maybe."

"I mean, it's been three years since you two got divorced… If she's suddenly calling you up again, clearly she misses you."

"Ooh, I seem to have come in during the perfect time." She heard House quip from the door. "Female friendly gossip! Do fill me in girls!" He mocked, pretending to be a valley girl before walking over to her and quickly kissing her on the cheek.

"Cuddy, you've got to tell me _everything _the adorably sexy doctor Chase tells you!"

She shook her head as he continued to speak in the voice, stifling a giggle as she watched Chase roll his eyes.

"Well, I'm going to go. I'll probably be around the next time you're in here." Chase responded, giving her a wave as he headed towards the door.

"Make yourself useful and get one of the nurses to unhook me from the IV." She ordered, watching as House raised an eyebrow at her. "Please." She added, giving him one of the smiles she knew he couldn't resist falling into.

After House had returned with nurse Brenda, she flexed her right hand after it had felt stiff from being still for so long. Two more sessions and she would be completely done with chemotherapy for what she hoped would be for good. She scratched at the ends of the bandage on her hand and let out a small yelp when House slapped her hand away.

"You're not a child Cuddy, stop scratching it. You should know better."

"You are not in a position to call me a child, seeing as being married to you is like being married to a ten year old because of how childish you are, and how immature you can be." She rebuked, shooting him a sly smirk.

"Okay Cuddy, whatever you say. I think my level of maturity has increased significantly since claiming you as mine by as they say, putting a ring on it."

She chuckled as House held up air quotation marks as he finished his sentence.

He did have a point now. She would never deny that he was a lot more mature than he had been at the time of their courtship, but she was glad that he still had his immaturities. She would hated it if he hadn't had that childish quality to begin with. Her life would have been less interesting had it not been for House and his immaturity bringing reasons for her to smile or go out and enjoy herself more often.

"You're completely right." She smiled, reaching up on the tip of her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck as she gave him a gentle kiss. "Come on. Let's go home."

They were greeted at the door by both Rachel and Zeus. Cuddy picked Rachel up for a hug, regardless of the fact that her incision wound wasn't completely healed and that Rachel was too big to be carried.

"How was school honey?" She asked as she gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek, the gesture eagerly and excitedly reciprocated by the six year old.

"It was good. We saw Beauty and the Beast in this really big place called a theatre and the beast was really scary and mean, but then at the end he was nice and not scary anymore and he transformed into a handsome prince!" The little girl gushed excitedly.

Cuddy couldn't help but look over at House and smile as Rachel talked about the musical, thinking about how he was similar to the Beast in many ways. He was cold and rude at first, and as the time wore on between them his attitude changed. As they grew closer he let his different side show, the caring side, the romantic side, the vulnerable side. House was no prince, but she was perfectly fine with having her beast.

"I'm glad you had fun Rach. Why don't you go wash up so you can help me make dinner?" She questioned as she set Rachel down.

"Okay!" Rachel exclaimed before running off towards the bathroom, a ball of white fur at her heels.

"I saw you eyeing me as the pipsqueak told you about her day. Aren't you glad you have me as your dashing, handsome prince?" He asked teasingly as he limped towards her, stopping when he reached her and placing his hands on her hips.

"No." She watched as his teasing smile dropped. "I'm glad to have you as my beast." She finished, smiling as he pulled her towards him, their lips meeting.

"Almost had me for a second there." He murmured against her lips.

"Why wouldn't I be glad to have you as my anything? As a friend, as a husband, you have no idea how glad I am to have you." She replied, caressing his cheek. "I'm always going to be grateful for you and what we have."

"You're so corny." He teased before kissing her forehead.

"You ruin everything." She responded shaking her head before pulling away. "What do you want for dinner?" She asked as she started towards the kitchen, adding an extra sway to her hips as she felt his eyes on her.

"You." She heard him respond behind her.

"Maybe, if you behave. But really, what do you want to eat? I can make something or we can order take out or something."

"Order Chinese, I don't care."

"Okay then. I was going to make lasagna, but if you want Chinese, then we'll eat Chinese."

"Or, you can make lasagna for yourself, and I can eat Chinese."

"No, I was actually hoping you'd suggest take out, I don't want to cook." She replied, letting out a small laugh.

"Mom! I'm back to help with dinner!" Rachel announced as she entered the kitchen, wearing an apron from her toy kitchen set.

Cuddy smiled at the sight before her.

"I'm sorry honey but we're gonna order take-out instead of making dinner. We can make some cookies tomorrow though. I'll be here all day, how does that sound?"

"Cookies!? Ok!"

"Good, go put your apron back and then come to the living room. We can watch a movie while we wait for our food."

"Ok!"

She watched as Rachel ran off towards her room before turning back to House.

"Order dinner, I'm gonna go see if there's anything on."

"Save me a seat on the couch."

"You sure? We'll probably end up watching that Glee movie Rachel loves so much, or _Tangled_ again."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

* * *

They were sitting on the couch, all four of them. House had his arm wrapped around Cuddy's shoulders, Rachel's head in her lap, and Zeus's head in House's. He pet the top of the dog's head as Cuddy leaned her head against his shoulder.

"So, adopting… Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Are you having doubts?"

"Yes."

He didn't want to lie to her. He was having doubts about it. The entire day he had doubted whether or not he would be able to help her raise a newborn. He didn't know if he would be able to handle a screaming infant in the middle of the night, when he himself was up most nights because of his insomnia. What if his leg was flaring up and the kid was screaming in the middle of the night? How would he be able to handle both situations? He had never been around screaming infants for extended periods of times. He few times he had been around them they'd made his head want to explode. He didn't want to end up yelling at a helpless infant who wouldn't stop crying.

He felt Cuddy shift from beside him and watched as she picked up Rachel and walked out of the room.

"_Shit." _He thought to himself. He should have lied. He should have just kept his mouth shut and not have said anything at all.

"Why do you doubt it?" He heard from behind him and he turned his head to see her walking back into the room.

He watched as she sat down beside him, her feet crossed beneath her so that she was facing him.

"Before you go on about how great I am with Rachel, please note that I came into the picture when Rachel was already speaking, and learning how to be as independent as she is now. I don't know how to deal with codependent people, let alone little ones. I don't know how to take care of screaming babies in the middle of the night. I have a bad temper; I don't know what would happen if the kid did something wrong and it pissed me off. What if I don't feel anything because it's not my biological child? What if in a moment of blind rage I end up hurting them like my so called 'father' hurt me?"

"You're so ridiculous House. I know you. I know you would never physically hurt anyone on purpose, especially a child. Look at how you are with Rachel. You're so good with her, even when she does something wrong. Don't think I've forgotten the time she broke_ several _of the strings on your Les Paul. You were pissed off, but did you hit her for touching it without asking? No. Did you yell at her? No. You scolded her, yes, but you did it in a way that didn't cause her any harm what so ever. You're not your father. You're not capable of physically abusing anyone House. You've never even hit the dog, and in the month we've had him he's chewed through one of your canes, and several of your shoes. You're so much more of a man than your father ever was. Stop being such an idiot."

"You and I both know that if I'm in enough pain I will end up hitting someone on purpose. What about that time I punched Chase in the jaw because I was in pain and he pissed me off?"

"That was different. Chase is a grown man, he can take the hit. Let's not forget that that you were also detoxing because I was withholding your meds and regulating your dosage regardless of your pain. I know you. I've trusted you with Rachel alone because I know that you would _never _hurt her, no matter the circumstances. This is nonsense House. You won't be alone in this. We'll be doing this together. You know I wouldn't let you do anything to one of our kids. If we adopt, I'm going to be there to guide you along. I was raising Rachel alone up until we started dating, and it's been so much easier with you here. If you don't want to go through with trying to adopt, then tell me. I'll be okay with it."

He couldn't believe how selfless she was being to make sure he wasn't being forced into something he didn't want. He knew she wanted to adopt another child, and he did as well. He had been the one who had suggested it in the first place. He couldn't take the opportunity from her.

"No. I'm okay with it. I'm just…scared."

"And that's completely fine. I was terrified when I was fostering Rachel, even more so after I adopted her. Just ask Wilson, even though I'm pretty sure you don't need to."

"I don't."

Wilson had told him how badly Cuddy had been struggling with attempting to bond with Rachel in the first few weeks after having taken her in as a foster child. He knew about how she actually enjoyed the distractions he had given her by showing up unexpectedly at her house to bother her about his cases with his entire team in tow.

"It's okay to be afraid. I am too. But we'll get through this together."

He nodded as he took her hand in his, a silent thank you for her reassurance.

"When do you want to start meeting with lawyers?"

"Whenever you feel ready. I don't want you to feel pressured into this."

"I don't feel pressured Cuddy. I want this just as much as you do." He replied honestly, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand.

"Okay. Let's just wait a month or so. Then I'll call my lawyer and have her set up a few meetings with adoption agencies."

"Okay then. See, wasn't that hard."

He watched her smile uncertainly at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Cuddy, really. I'm fine with it all alright? I was the one who suggested it."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just don't want you to regret this in the future."

"If at any time during the course of the next month I change my mind, I'll let you know okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

_So curious as to what you all have to say. So don't forget to leave your thoughts on the way out!_


	53. This Too Shall Pass

_I'm back with an update and it only took me two weeks! You should be proud of me! And it's also long and full over everything, which means you should reward me with a review because I really just want to break 1500 by the time this fic is over, which by the way, is within 10 - 12 chapters from now. I've always said that reviews are what keeps me going. I think that's a decent enough amount of time to give it to end. I feel like everyone is tired of it by now, and I have other ideas to pursue, and i want this story to end while it's still good. I'll try to update again soon, but seeing in order for me to write these days it involves losing sleep, we'll see what happens. So here we are, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! :)_

* * *

She'd given House a month to change his mind. After two weeks, she was relieved to discover that he had no intention to do so what so ever. She made an appointment with her lawyer about searching for an infant to adopt, elated when they were easily accommodated for the start of the New Year.

"I have various adoption files here. There are files for infants who have already been born, and there are the files of infants who are still in the womb. With the cases where the child has yet to be born, you would most likely meet with the biological parents, because majority of the time they want to know who they are essentially giving their child to." Alison Vargas, Cuddy's close friend, and lawyer for over twenty years stated as she pulled several files from her briefcase.

"We prefer to not have to meet the biological parents." Cuddy replied on behalf of herself and House. They had both agreed that they didn't want to meet the parents of the child they would take in and raise as their own. She didn't want to meet them because she didn't know how she would react to meeting a person who would willingly give their child up for someone else to raise, when she herself was never granted the opportunity to have a child of her own. Aside from that, she didn't want to there to be a chance of a recurrence in history. The first time she had attempted to adopt, she had met with the birthmother, and things had progressively turned against her. She didn't want to be so close to something that she wanted so badly, only to have it ripped away from her again. House on the other hand didn't want to meet the parents because he simply didn't care enough about them to want to waste his time with them.

"I do have several cases where the biological parents do wish to remain anonymous as well. Let me be more specific though, are you looking to adopt a child who has already been born, or one that is still in the womb?"

"Still in the womb." House replied from her side, sitting up in his chair. "We need some time to set up a room, get the essentials needed for taking care of babies, all that stuff."

They had started discussing the possibility of moving into a bigger house just a few days earlier. They had spent the last two years living in her house, spending the occasional weekends at his apartment as a getaway, but with their new addition it would mean that there would no longer be a guest room in the house, and although she would be grateful for an excuse to not have her mother over, she knew that they would need to expand their living conditions to accommodate the new arrival.

"Well regardless, the adoption process could take up to several weeks. Even so, you would be able to foster the child before adopting, as Lisa did with Rachel. Is that something you would be able to do?" Alison questioned, shuffling through some of the files on her desk.

"Of course. We want to be able to have our child with us as soon as possible. We don't want to miss any moment of his or her life, especially in the beginning, when everything is so memorable… How long do you think we would have to wait to be able to adopt?" Cuddy asked, anxiously wringing her hands.

She knew that the adoption process could take up to two years before they could possibly be able to take a newborn home. With Rachel it was under different circumstances. She had literally saved her from the terrible life she would have had had she not found her and taken her in from the homeless family that had taken her in.

"Not very long; I have specific cases set aside for you that the circumstances allow for the child to be placed into the perspective adoptive family's home within a week of being born. Not to mention that your credentials allow your home study to be conducted as soon as possible, although I'm sure that there will be nothing wrong with it. You may be new parents by March at latest."

"Wow."

"Mhm. Now, unless you have any questions, there's nothing left to discuss. These are the files I have for you. Take as long as you want making your decision, although I'm sure that regardless of how long it takes you to make it, you're not going to regret it. Your decision with adopting your daughter was spur of the moment and it turned out fantastically."

"I don't have any questions. Do you House?" Cuddy asked, taking the files Alison was holding out to her and slipping them into her bag.

"Nope, none at all." He replied, standing from his seat and extending a hand to Alison. "Pleasure doing business with you Vargas."

Cuddy smiled at his attempt at politeness, watching as Alison responded.

"The pleasure was mine Dr. House. Anything to help an old friend."

"I'll see you around Ali." Cuddy replied, reaching out to shake her hand as well. "I'll give you a call once we've made a decision."

"Looking forward to it." Alison replied, giving them a wave before they turned and exited.

* * *

They were lying in bed together, fully clothed, after having met with the lawyer. Normally House would have had a problem with being in bed with his wife and not being naked, but in this case he was fine with it. She currently had one leg crossed over the other as he laid beside her, propping himself up on an elbow as they went through the files of adoption cases they had been given earlier in the day. There were over ten files, with birthmothers of diverse races, and due dates of ranging from as soon as two weeks from the current point in time, to four months.

"Do you care what sex we end up adopting?" He heard her ask from beside him as they went over the current file together. The birthmother's name was Gemma Altman, a student from the northern portion of the state who was incapable of raising a child on her own. She was due to give birth to a boy in the middle of February.

"I mean, we already have Rachel, so why don't we adopt a boy?"

"Okay, good, because that's what I want as well. I mean, we'd have the perfect family. Us, a son, a daughter, and the dog, the prime example of what a family should look like."

"Nothing is perfect Cuddy, you more than anyone should know that seeing as you're married to me, the epitome of imperfect."

"See, but that's where you're wrong. You're perfectly imperfect. Your flaws make you human, they make you who you are, and I wouldn't be in love with you if it weren't for them."

"So are you saying you only love me because of my flaws?" He questioned raising an eyebrow accusingly.

"God no, you know I love you because you fulfill my raging libido." She replied teasingly before turning to face him. "But seriously, we're as close to perfect as we can get. I'm happy with the life we have, and I know I'll be happy with the life we're going to have with our new addition, whoever he ends up coming from."

"Okay, just making sure you aren't insane, believing things to be perfect when they're not."

He took the pile of files from beside her and sorted them, pushing the files of mothers who were giving birth to females aside and leaving the files of mothers who were giving birth to males within their reach. There were three files of mothers giving birth to sons, including the one they had currently been reviewing.

"Guess this makes our choice a lot simpler." He said as he reached for one of the two files between them as Cuddy continued to read the first one.

"Maybe it does. Or maybe it doesn't. It depends on the situations those too makes or breaks a file. Like for instance, this Gemma, she's an extremely intelligent girl, she's trying to get her bachelor of fine arts in technical theatre, but she's not ready to have a child. She's got no history what so ever of any sort of drug abuse, or any misdemeanor on her record."

"This one was on meth before she found out she was knocked up, has a battery charge, and dropped out of high school. Says here she was gang affiliated as well."

"See what I mean? And let's not forget that we would be paying some of this woman's medical expenses to be able to adopt her child. God knows how much more expensive it would be to help her out than to help this one out. I mean I know we can afford it, but do we really want to adopt the child of an ex-drug addict?"

"You seem to be forgetting that the child we're adopting is going to be raised by an ex-drug addict." He stated simply, implying no emotion at all in his tone of voice.

"Oh my god, House, don't take it the negative way. I'm so sorry, it slipped my mind. This is different though –"

"It's not different though. I'm a drug addict. We both know that. I relapsed a little over two months ago Cuddy. After a year and a half of being sober, I relapsed. What does the mother being an ex-drug addict have to do with anything? She stopped the drug use after she found out she was pregnant, clearly she's smart enough to actually care about her kid if she stopped, especially since she knows she's not cut out to be a parent and is giving him up for adoption. The fact that she was a user has nothing to do with that. She's actually doing something by making sure that kid gets a home where the parents can take care of him because she can't. You're being a hypocrite."

"No, it is different. You used drugs as a pain reliever. What pain does meth relieve? None, it's not a pain reliever. It's a recreational drug, which you and I both know, even without having looked at the file that was used for the high and nothing else. God knows what she could have done when she was high. Does she even know who the father is?"

"Since when are you so judgmental? I could have sworn the first time you were trying to adopt the mother had been on meth as well, only she was a little more stable."

He was noticeably annoyed, and he could see that he was getting to her as well, but there was nothing he hated more than her rare moments of hypocrisy. She was usually the least judgmental person he knew, but the rare times she let that side of her show and it was something that they disagreed on it was a struggle for him to keep his mouth shut. He'd done it may times before in the past but this was one of the times where he couldn't simply sit back and listen without saying his true opinion.

"And how did that work out? She wasn't even deep into trouble and she ended up changing her mind and keeping the baby to give herself a reason to change herself for the better. What if we choose the file you have and she does the same exact thing? I don't want to go through that again. You saw how I was the first time House. You knew how badly I took it because it was something I wanted so badly and it was taken from me. Both of us want it this time. This time I have you here and you want it too, and I don't want to take a risk that will hurt us both. I don't want that to happen to us, because I don't want you to feel that pain."

He was watching her as she took a deep breath to calm herself, seeing that she had clearly never gotten over the betrayal of having her first perspective adoption taken from her.

"You're not seeing the good things that happened because of that though. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't that what lead to you being able to adopt Rachel? And look how happy you are with her. Who knows how different the last few years would have turned out to be if that had gone the way you had it planned."

"That led to our first kiss." She said softly as she ran a hand through her hair, her face still red from her anger and her bottom lip quivering.

He could tell that she was on the verge of tears, something that usually occurred out of frustration during their heated arguments.

"You're right. We probably wouldn't even be sitting here right now if that hadn't happened. There's a chance I could have been with someone else right now and most likely regretting it because before that kiss even happened I knew that I was in love with you. One little thing can make a significant difference in someone's life, and that adoption falling through might have just been the best thing to have happened to me, but I didn't realize it until now… I'm sorry." She replied, burying her head in her hands.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into him before rolling his eyes. He could never understand how one moment she could go from completely flaming to sentimental and emotional the next. He hated to admit it but having her breakdown after their argument and holding her against him made his anger fade. He hated to be the cause of her stress outside the workplace, and even though he knew she was probably reliving the anxiety she felt the first time she was adopting, he chose to use it against her in a sense that would break her down.

He rubbed his hand against her back as she pressed her forehead against her knees, her arms wrapped around them and her head leaning on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for being an asshole. I just wanted to vent some frustration over the situation and you said some things that pissed me off, but I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It was my fault. It's fine. Let's just move passed this and get onto the last file okay?"

She replied looking up and running a hand over her face and reaching beside her to grab the last file.

He was surprised that she didn't pull away from him; he could feel the tenseness in her shoulders that was still present even after they had both apologized. Sometimes their arguments ended with apologies but there would still be some anger left over that they tried to hide unsuccessfully.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she opened the file to the first page, which contained a picture of the mother and all of her information.

"She's very pretty." He heard Cuddy murmur from beside him.

He had to agree, she was definitely the most attractive of the three choices, with dark raven hair and grey eyes. She reminded him a lot of what Cuddy looked like when they had first met all those years ago at Michigan.

"She is. Look, there's a picture of the father too." He replied, flipping the page to a picture of a young man no older than twenty – three in a full military uniform. "Says here he was killed in Afghanistan about two months ago; the mother can't raise the child on her own, according to this it says his family denies the child is his because they weren't married and they're religious nuts."

"Leave it to God worshipping ones to end up forcing a woman into giving her child up for adoption so that they can live out an easy life with stable parents when she's unable to provide that for her child because they refuse to help her."

"Reasons why I don't believe in organized religion."

"Or religion in general." She countered.

"That too. You can pick the file. It doesn't matter to me as long as we get a healthy kid."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter to you. Don't give me that bullshit House. You're just trying to please me after that argument. You pick."

"I like this one best."

"Okay, so do I."

"Well I guess picking was easier than it we thought it would be…"

"Yeah… I'll call Alison in the morning, have her set up everything that needs to be done."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"You and House having some problems?" Chase said as he entered the room.

Cuddy looked up from the magazine she was reading, an attempt to keep herself entertained as she went through another round of chemo.

"How can you tell?" She asked sighing, as she dropped the magazine onto the table beside her and pulled her feet up into a chair.

"He's crankier than usual, he's having us do his bidding for him instead of bothering you himself."

She shook her head. Whenever they had an argument that hadn't blown over, they would always try their hardest to avoid each other at work. At home they acted as if nothing was wrong, but at work, where they weren't constantly together was where they let it show.

"We're going through a rough patch… We got into this argument the other night…We're trying to adopt a baby boy, and we were going through the files of the birth mothers, and House had found a file of a mother who was an ex-addict, and I had said I didn't want to take that case because the chances were she would change her mind and say she wanted to keep the baby to help better herself, and that because she was an ex-addict the expenses would be even more. I was insensitive and I completely forgot about his Vicodin abuse. It just got heated and one thing led to another and we were both pissed off and I was frustrated. We did end up apologizing to each other, but it's still been off…"

"I would say just give it some time to blow over, but since it's you two, I don't think that will work very well. You'll both just shut each other out instead of talking to one another about what's going on. Just talk to him about it, even if he's unresponsive. You'll wear him down eventually. It's obvious that you mean a lot to him, even if he tries to hide it."

"See, you're so good with this advice. I don't understand how you know so much."

"It's because I learned from my mistakes with Cameron. When we had problems, they were resolved faster if we talked them out. If we didn't then we would shut each other out. The entire reason she even left me in the first place was because she wanted to know what was going out and I shut her out. I completely shut down when she tried to bring up the situation, and that ended badly."

"Did you listen to me by the way? Is she coming back to see you?"

She watched as Chase's expression lit up and smiled at the sudden change in the mood of the room.

"She is. She's flying down two weeks from Saturday. I'm going to pick her up from the airport and we're going out to dinner and then see what happens from there. "

"That's great Chase. Let me know what happens."

"Only if you promise not to tell House." He replied.

"I promise." She lied, putting on her winning smile.

"You're lying to me." He retorted, knowingly raising an eyebrow at her fib.

"I'm married to the biggest liar of all, you should know by now that everybody lies."

"Yeah, you're right. But seriously, I'll let you know what happens." He answered, standing to leave.

"Thanks for the talk, it really helped." She responded, waving as he walked towards the door.

"Anytime, it's like collateral. I listen to you, you listen to me. I'll see you around Cuddy."

"Bye Chase."

Several hours later she was in bed, curled up reading. She had gone home alone; House had been assigned a case and needed to stay a few hours to work on it. She hated the nights when he stayed late, especially if things between them weren't the best. Even if they were fighting, she felt safer with him beside her. He was so protective of her regardless of their status, whether it was when they were friends or now that they were married, he was always protecting her in one way or another.

She stood deciding to make herself a snack, and maybe something for House to find once he got home from work. She walked down the hall, peaking into Rachel's room to make sure she was asleep. She smiled at the sight of her daughter's sleeping face, her stuffed dog wrapped tightly in her arms. She continued into the kitchen, surprised to find the light on. Cuddy snuck her head around the corner, relieved to see that House was standing in the kitchen, giving her an explanation of why the light was on. His back was to her and she could read in his posture that something was wrong. His shoulders were tensed and she could see his knuckles gripping the edge of the counter.

She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle, leaning her head against his back. He slightly relaxed against her.

"Everything okay?" She asked softly, pressing her cheek to his back as she ran her hands along his chest as a form of comfort.

"Patient's dead."

His voice was low and rough, the way it was when he was infuriated. It was rare for him to be so angry over the death of a patient, and she knew it had been over two years since he had last been so visibly bothered by the loss of a patient.

"What happened?"

"Eight years old and she had a brain aneurysm that ruptured before we could even do anything about the reason she was there to begin with."

"It's not your fault."

"That doesn't matter to me. Eight years old, Cuddy. Two years older than Rachel, and she's dead because I couldn't do anything to stop it from bursting. I wasn't even able to diagnose her to begin with. We started getting tests run, and before they were even finished she started crashing, and I couldn't do shit to save her."

She could hear the anger at himself in his voice and it hurt her to see him so upset. She knew that when his patient died and he showed so much of his compassionate side that it meant something; it left an emotional impact on him.

Most people assumed that because he was so hard on the outside that he didn't care about those around him, when it was completely untrue. If others had bothered to know him as well as she did they would know that when he cared about others, he cared so deeply that although he would never admit it he was affected by their pain. He cared about his patients even though he pretended not to. If he didn't care about people, he wouldn't have become a doctor. Doctors save lives. A person who did not care about others would not have become a doctor, and it did nothing but piss her off when people believed that of him. If people took the time to see him for who he really was, they would know that.

"I'm sorry." She said, letting go of him and moving to his side. She placed her hand over his and was not at all surprised when he pulled her against him, his lips finding hers as his hands ran along her sides seeking comfort.

"I need you." He murmured against her lips and she shivered as his hands slipped beneath her shirt.

"I know." She replied, running her hands along his chest before pulling off his jacket. She started unbuttoning his shirt, their lips never parting as he gripped her hips keeping her pinned against him.

When his shirt was unbuttoned she felt him lift her into his arms. Usually she would have protested but knowing him and how he was currently feeling she knew better. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the bedroom, running her lips against his jaw as she ran her fingers through his hair.

* * *

He gently dropped her onto the bed before finding her lips once more. He needed nothing more than to feel her flesh against his, to seek the physical and emotional comfort that only she could provide for him in moments when he hated himself and everything around him. He needed to know that regardless of his failure as a doctor that she was going to be there to reassure him.

He pushed up her shirt and kissed the flatness of her abdomen, trailing his lips against her skin as he moved his hand up to her left breast, giving it a gentle squeeze as his thumb brushed against her nipple until it was hard beneath his touch. He moved his lips up her body, taking her breast into his mouth as his hand gave the same attention he had just given the other. He felt her arch beneath him and could feel his arousal grow, soft whimpers escaping her as he continued to lick and suck at her breast. He released it and went on to do the same to the other, her hands running along his back. He pulled off her shirt and groaned as she brought their faces together, pulling at his lower lip. He hooked his arm around her waist, holding her as close as possible, feeling her breasts against his chest, the feel of her heart beating rapidly beneath him giving him comfort.

She pushed off his shirt and he could feel her hand make its way towards the button of his pants, and he eagerly pressed himself against her hand. She unbuttoned his jeans and slipped down the zipper, sliding her hand into his boxers. He groaned as he felt her run her thumb against his head, her touch sending a bolt of electricity through him.

He closed his eyes as she continued to rub him, knowing exactly what he needed. He pulled away from her and took off the remainder of his clothing, his hands finding her hips and pulling off pajama bottoms along with her thong. He slipped his fingers along her folds, feeling her wetness against his skin knowing she was more than ready for him. He looked up at her and she nodded, her leg wrapping around his back to encourage him. He thrust into her and they both let out simultaneous moans, their bodies molding to fit perfectly together.

He could feel the tightening of her walls as he ground against her hips, her nails digging into his back as she moaned in pleasure. He brought his lips to her collarbone, sucking at her neck as she wrapped her legs tightly around him. He squeezed her breasts as he continued to suck at her neck.

* * *

She moaned as she felt his hand leave her breast and slip between their bodies, his thumb pressing against her clit as he quickened his pace. She could feel her body tensing as he rubbed her, putting enough pressure on her that the feeling of pleasure was unbearable. She pulled his face towards her and pressed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around House's neck as her breath hitched and she arched into him.

She was so close she could barely contain her whimpers as he continued to thrust into her, one hand against her clit as the other held them together. Her legs began to quiver as she felt a wave of pleasure hit her, her orgasm so intense that she screamed in pleasure, her voice cracking and her breath coming in pants.

"Oh fuck, right _there_." She cried as her chest tightened at the amount of pleasure she was feeling as he pushed into her.

"I…I can't take it anymore." She allowed herself to be completely overtaken by her orgasm as he moved above her, his teeth pulling at her lips.

"You feel so incredible right now." She heard him groan as she rode out her orgasm, one hand pressed firmly against the back of his neck.

* * *

He groaned as she pressed her forehead against his, letting out another moan before she pressed her lips against his jaw. He was so close that he could barely contain himself. He could feel her tightening against him again as he pounded into her, feeling the heat of her body against his. They were covered in sweat, and he could see her cheeks flushing as she threw her head back. Her hips were bucking up to meet his, grinding against him. He knew she was close to her second orgasm, the desperation in her voice as her whimpers increased in frequency.

He pressed his lips against hers, feeling her take one of his hands as she arched into him, her body shaking. The feel of her quivering beneath him was enough to send him over the edge. He grunted as he came, one hand in hers and the other around her back as she brought her free hand to his face, holding it there as they continued to kiss.

He dropped down beside her, wrapping his arm against her as she burrowed into his side.

"Are we okay?" He heard her ask softly, her lips pressed against his chest.

His mind went back to the argument they had had only days earlier, leaving things between the two uncertain although they had apologized then.

"We're fine." He replied, pulling the covers around them. "We'll always be fine."

* * *

_Comments? Concerns? Leave your thoughts in a review please! :) Also, don't forget to check out "return" by my good friend katherynmae c: i promised her i'd help her get some readers!_


	54. Love On Top

_I'm sorry for the delay in the update, and I'm sorry that this is so short. I've been over my head with rehearsals and shows and theatrical competitions that I haven't had the time to write much, and on top of that my personal life is falling apart at the seems. Bare with me, I have off until Monday and it's 4am now, I'm going to spend the next few days writing the continuation of this chapter. For now there's this. Have a great thanksgiving if you celebrate it. _

* * *

"What are you two doing tonight?"

House took a gulp of his soda before replying to Wilson's question.

"I'm taking her up to the city for the two nights; she just doesn't know it yet."

It was Cuddy's birthday and he had planned a little getaway for the two. He knew she was overly stressed with the adoption and with her workload, he also knew she was anxious over the results of recent blood tests she would receive at the end of the week. Going away for a few days would do them both good.

"What are you going to be doing up there?"

"We're going to see a musical. She's been talking about wanting to see some musical called 'In The Heights' lately so I got orchestra tickets for tomorrow night."

"Sounds great. What are you doing about Rachel?"

"She's at Julia's for the day since they didn't have school. She's going to be staying with her while we're there. Already talked to Julia about it."

"You've got everything set then huh?"

"Yup, bags packed and in the back of the car, I've just gotta wait until around four for us to leave, and then we'll be all set."

"Have fun with that."

"Oh, I shall." House replied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Thanks for the mental image." Wilson remarked, shaking his head.

"You know you enjoyed it, so you're welcome." He rebuked, letting out a low chuckle at his friend's current expression.

Two hours later House entered Cuddy's office, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

"No office sex." She said immediately as he approached her. "Not even on birthdays remember?"

She was standing near her coat rack, grabbing her scarf and wrapping it around her neck. He reached her and pulled her towards him by the hips, his lips finding hers in an almost needy manner. He smirked against her as she let out the smallest of moans as his hands slipped down to her ass, holding her firmly against him.

"Houseeee." She groaned, extending his name as she pulled away from him.

"Finish putting on your coat so we can leave. Why would I want office sex when we'll be having much more comfortable sex later on tonight?" He teased, rubbing circles into her back with his thumbs.

"Why are you in such a rush to leave?" She questioned, pulling on her coat and buttoning it to the top.

"When am I not in a rush to leave?" He challenged back.

"Good point." She responded.

He watched as she shook her hair out from the back of her coat before extending his arm to her.

"Such a gentlemen today, aren't we? If only everyday was my birthday." She laughed, hooking her arm into his.

They walked out of her office arm in arm, something that was not much of an oddity to the rest of the hospital. They had become a little more open about their relationship in the work place; they weren't as subtle with touching, often found with his hand on her hip or around her waist when they happened to be side by side.

They stepped outside to find that it had started to snow lightly and quickly made their way to the car. He turned the heat up once they had entered the car, noting that Cuddy's nose had turned red.

"You look like Rudolph." He teased as she held her hands in front of the heater.

"Shut up, you jerk." She replied.

"It's cute." He continued as he pulled out of the parking space.

He watched from the corner of his eye as she began to fiddle with the radio controls, settling on a station. He smiled slightly as he saw her mouth the words to the song that was currently playing.

"You missed the exit to go home." She said suddenly as he indeed passed the exit that led to their shared home.

"We're not going home. We're going out of town."

"What do you mean we're going out of town? I don't have any clothes packed."

"We're going out to the city. I packed your clothes, the hospital knows you're going to be gone until Thursday, you're good to go."

"What? What about Rachel?"

"Julia's got her until then. I dropped her off this morning with clothes for the next few days, she's got all her essentials."

"What are we even going to the city for?"

"I got you orchestra tickets to that musical you wanted to see. Tomorrow night at eight. So close to the pit you could probably fall into it."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope. Open the glove compartment, they're in a white envelope."

He smiled as she pulled the envelope out of the glove compartment and opened it, letting out an uncharacteristic squeal.

"There's also a note from yours truly." He continued.

"Dear Cuddy, I can't believe it's already been a hundred years since your dinosaur of a mother hatched you. You don't look a day over forty-six, which incidentally, you now are. I know you'll enjoy the musical tomorrow, and you'll enjoy whatever else I may or may not have planned for you. I love you, and happy birthday. – House." She read out loud, before putting the note back into the envelope.

"Thank you. It really means a lot." She continued, reaching over and kissing his cheek.

"You're welcome."

* * *

"God that was fantastic." She panted as he dropped down beside her. They were both nude and covered in sweat, trying to catch their breath after spending several hours having what she currently ranked in their top ten sexual encounters.

Cuddy propped herself up on her elbow, reaching her other hand out and running it across House's chest.

"More like mind blowing. Those lips of yours…" He trailed off and she smirked before leaning forward to give him a heated kiss, her hair cascading around their faces.

It was sometime in the middle of the night, they had lost track of time the second they had stepped foot inside of their hotel room. He'd pressed her against the wall, kissed her, and then had continued his way down her body to bury his face between her legs.

Eventually they had found their way onto the plush and comfortable bed they were now spread across.

She pulled away from him, resting her head in the crook of his neck before draping her leg across him.

"What are we doing before the musical tomorrow?" She asked, smiling as she felt his arm wrap around her.

"More of this. Then we can see the show and there are a few other things I might have up my sleeve for us to do."

"Oh? Well then, that sounds like a promising evening." She smirked, feeling his hand run along her spine, stopping at the scar left by the surgery that had almost killed her.

She stiffened as his fingers traced the indentation in her skin.

"I know I don't say things like this often…but do you remember when I used to tease you constantly before we got together, the sexual comments, the flirting, and the harassment? I did it because I never thought that I would actually stand a chance with you. I never actually thought that you would give me a chance. But you did…and I fucked it up. But you gave me another chance, and I still can't believe that any of this has happened. That however the hell this screwed up world functions it's given someone like me, someone like you."

"What do you mean someone like me?" She asked slightly offended but trying her best not to show it.

"I mean someone who gives people second chances, don't take it badly before letting me explain myself. Or in my case multiple chances; I told you once that you saw the world as it was, and as it could be. You don't see the gaping chasm in between. I said that almost ten years ago and it's still one of the most accurate things about you. Anyone else would have given up on me after all of the idiotic things I've done, after all of the pain I've caused the people I love. But you're not anyone else. You fought for me, and I've never had anyone who would do that for me."

"Of course I would fight for you, for us House. You know how much I love you, and how miserable I would be without you. You're a part of me that I would never be able to let go of."

"As I was trying to say, I'm lucky to have you as my wife. There's no one else I would rather have nagging me around and controlling me for the rest of my life. Literally, I don't think either of us will ever retire or plan on leaving the hospital, so you will be controlling me for the rest of my life."

"You always have to end these uncharacteristic moments with something that is characteristically like you." Cuddy replied, kissing his cheek as she heard him let out a low laugh.

"If I didn't it wouldn't be a memorable moment."

"You're right."

She turned to look at the clock on the bedside table. It was just passed three am.

"We should really go to sleep." She yawned, nestling into his chest.

"I guess…" House replied before pressing his lips against her forehead. "Good night Cuddy."

"Good night House."

* * *

For what was probably the millionth time in the last decade, House watched as Cuddy stood in front of the bathroom mirror, applying her make up. He was secretly relieved to see that it was a much lighter application, something he had noted she did a lot more often these days. He could tell that she was comfortable in her skin, knowing that despite the fact that she was nearing fifty she still looked like she was at least ten years younger than her actual age.

"Okay, I'm ready to go."

He watched her walk across the room and towards the door, grabbing her coat off of the hook and slipping it on, tying it snuggly around her small waist. He stood, with the help of his cane and limped to her side, pulling her against him and wrapping his arm against her waist.

He heard her chuckle as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling her scent as she wrapped an arm around him.

They pulled apart and he opened the door, leading them both out of the room and to what he had planned for the night.


	55. It Won't Be Long Now

_Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter. :) Enjoy, and please don't forget to leave a review! This chapter is the beginning of the end._

* * *

"That was such an amazing show." Cuddy gushed as she pulled her coat closer against her, as she and House walked out of the theatre. "I can't believe you spent so much money on tickets for a show you probably didn't even enjoy."

"I actually did enjoy it. Jeez Cuddy, you always think so badly of me. I know how to appreciate theatre and other cultures. Just wait and see what else I have planned for us."

She let out a small laugh at his feigned offense before linking her arm in his and leaning her head against his upper arm.

"I guess I shouldn't assume things about you. You're so unpredictable, even after all these years, you never fail to surprise me."

"Damn right I don't." He replied proudly, causing her to snort in amusement. "What the hell was that sound you just made? God, if I had known you made sounds like that I wouldn't have married you."

"Please, you would marry me for the _other _sounds I make." She shot back, smirking as he looked down at her suggestively. "Maybe you'll get to hear your favorite sounds from me later tonight."

"Maybe? I'm guaranteed a lay after everything I'm doing for you tonight. First a musical, next dancing, you know you're going to want to fuck me the minute we get back into that hotel room."

"Dancing? We're going dancing?" She asked somewhat excitedly, having completely disregarded the fact that he had just said she would want to sleep with him the moment they reentered their hotel room out loud.

"Do you need some hydrogen peroxide? You're a doctor, I thought you would know about personal hygiene. God Cuddy." He replied as they stopped at a corner, his hand shooting up to hail a cab.

"We haven't danced since our wedding. You really want to go dancing?" She asked skeptically, not believing that House would want to do something that would end up being so extraneous on his leg.

"Only for tonight the answer is yes. I know how much you like it, even though you don't have time to do it often, but trust me, I know about your outings with Kat. Apparently you two are quite the faux lesbian couple."

"We don't even act like lesbians, we don't kiss one another, we just dance together and pretend to be a couple so that weird men don't hit on us."

"Hence the faux being added to the title 'faux lesbians'."

Before she could reply a cab was stopping in front of them and House was opening the door for her to get in before him.

"Where to?" The cabbie, an elderly Hispanic man asked when they were settled.

"Club_ Obsesión_." House replied, saying the name of the club in Spanish.

"We're going to a Spanish club? House, do you even know how to dance to Spanish music?"

"Nope."

"I can't wait to teach you then." She replied chuckling.

The cab stopped in front of the club and House handed the driver a twenty before opening the door and letting himself out before extending a hand to Cuddy.

"Oh the times when you're a gentleman of your choosing are the best of times." She teased taking his hand as she scooted out of the cab, shutting the door behind her.

He rolled his eyes as she hooked her arm through his. They approached the club, where the line formed reached almost the end of the block. He led her towards the door where they were approached by one of the bouncers.

"Name?" The man asked. House almost snorted in amusement at the man's appearance. He was wearing the stereotypical clothing that a bouncer would be seen wearing. All black, the shirt having short sleeves so that his overly buff arms could be seen from a mile away and considered as a threat by less opposing people.

"House." He replied, smirking as the man looked at the checklist in his hand and nodded, granting them entrance.

"What just happened?" Cuddy asked as they walked through the door and into the dimly lit building.

"I know someone. Well, Wilson knows someone. His girlfriend's brother owns this place. I asked her to ask him to put us on the list."

"But she hates you, why would she do that."

"Because she likes you, and she loves Wilson, and I'm Wilson's best friend, so she did me a favor."

"That was nice of her."

"Clearly, so are you going to show me how to dance or what?" He asked stopping in front of the door of the coat room. He waited for her to pull of her coat and hand it to him before opening the door and hanging them.

"Of course I am."

They walked down a flight of stairs where the actual dance floor of the club was located, and before they even reached the end of the flight they could hear the sounds of Latin music floating up the stairs.

He was surprised at the diversity of the people in the club; there were people of all ages, from their late teens to late sixties either on the dance floor or sitting at one of the tables around it enjoying drinks and one another's company.

Cuddy pulled him onto the dance floor just as a new song started to play. She placed one of his hands on her hip and the other in one of her own.

"It's actually really simple, at least Bachata is. It's basically just front two, three, four back two, three , four left two, three, four right two, three, four." She instructed.

He looked down at their feet as she took the lead in the dance, making sure that he got it right the first time. She was right, it was simple. It was as simple to him as playing Fur Elise on his beloved piano. It was just repetition, the way most dances were. He was never one to have gone dancing before. He honestly couldn't recall the last time, if he ever, had gone out with the intention of going dancing with someone.

"See, you've got the hang of it. I told you it wasn't so difficult." She praised as he felt her give his hand a squeeze.

"I am a genius after all; things aren't as hard for me to learn as they are for others." He responded, lifting her hand into the air and watching as she spun. "See, you didn't tell me what I needed to do for you to spin, but I did it anyway."

"I'm impressed." She replied.

"You know, I can count on one hand the amount of times we've gone dancing." He said suddenly, the thought occurring to him that it was something they rarely did.

"Can you really?"

"It might be a less than a hand actually. But let's see. There was that night in med school, the convention a few years back where I declared my feelings for you and you walked away from me, there was that wedding for that hospital chair's niece, there was _our_ wedding, and there's now. We've known each other for thirty years, and we've only gone dancing five times."

"Well the first time it was before you had the infarction. We could have also danced between then and the second time had you not gotten expelled and decided not to tell me."

"Ah but you see, my infarction has nothing to do with the amount of times we go dancing. If you wanted to go dancing with me, I'd probably go with you, depending on my mood. But you know me well enough to know if I would go out or not on a certain night. But you just assume that I wouldn't want to go dancing so you never ask."

"At least I know now that I can ask and it might be a possibility. I just assumed that dancing would make your leg hurt more, and I don't want that to happen because I hate seeing you in that much pain. I do appreciate you going to such lengths for me though. It means a lot."

"I don't care if my leg hurts later on for this. If it's for you, I'll deal with it. I mean I treat you like shit for the entire year except for what, a seven days; and those days are our birthdays, Rachel's birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, and our anniversary. We have sex all the time, and normally my leg hurts like a bitch afterwards, but do I care? No. It's all about enjoying the moment, isn't it? We've – "

He was interrupted when her mouth met his, her hands moving up to his face and his hands automatically dropping down to her waist and pulling her against him.

She moved her hands from his face and wrapped her arms around his neck, as she kissed him passionately, their tongues tasting one another. They broke apart to breathe, their noses almost touching as she moved a hand to his cheek.

"That was honestly one of the most romantic things you have ever said to me, and it wouldn't even make sense to anyone that isn't us. I don't know where all of this is suddenly coming from, but god it's such a nice thing to hear; even if in someone else's ears it wouldn't sound at all as romantic as it sounds to me."

"Well then, maybe I should just talk like that more often if it gets you to make out with me in public."

"Very funny." She replied. "Your leg's not hurting, is it?"

"No Cuddy, my leg isn't hurting. Even if it was, I wouldn't tell you. What did I just say about enjoying the moment?"

"Okay, fine." Just as she finished speaking, the style of music playing changed completely, turning into something more raunchy and sexual than what they had currently spent over twenty minutes dancing to.

Cuddy smirked as she turned around, placing House's hands on her hips as she swayed side to side, ever so slightly grinding against him as she did so.

"You are such a closeted nympho." She heard him growl into her ear as she pressed herself against him, feeling the starting of his erection against her ass.

"I don't think you mind." She purred as she turned to face him, running her hands down his chest before rubbing the heel of her palm against his bulge. "How about we get out of here?"

She pulled against the collar of his jacket the second they reentered their hotel room, pressing him against the wall, wrapping a leg around him as she feverously attacked his jaw with her lips. She let out a small moan as she felt the coolness of his hand against her face, bring it to his and holding her there as their lips meshed together.

His hands moved down to hips and settled on the fabric of her tight red dress. She let out a small squeak as he caught her off guard, gripping her thighs and carrying her over to the bed. She pushed off his jacket before abandoning her own. He grabbed her arm and wrapped it around his neck.

She couldn't help but smile when he ran a hand through her hair and kissed her. She nipped at his lips, running her hands along his broad shoulders.

"You are so sexy." He murmured between kisses.

"And you are the most enticing man I have ever set my eyes upon." She replied, running a hand along his jaw.

She let out a gasp as she felt one of his hands slide against her thigh, his touch like the tickle of a feather against her skin, sending chills down her spine.

"Oh my god, you're not wearing any underwear."

She smirked at his surprise. It was something she only did in the privacy of their home, never while out in public.

"Easier access. Do you want to know what I do when you're at work and I want, _need _you but I can't have you?" She asked winking, before reaching between her legs and placing her hand over his, directing him towards her heat.

She shuddered as she pressed his hand against her clit, using his middle finger to show him how she pleasured herself. She moved his hand against her in a vertical motion, letting out a small moan as he pressed his finger against her, the pressure sending a pulsation of pleasure through her body.

"I hate having to resort to this when you're not around. I'd much rather have you there with me, instead of having to imagine that my hands are actually yours. They're too small for that." She teased, running her free hand through his hair as the other continued to guide him. "I think of your hands running along my sides, and your lips against my neck, like they are now. I think of feeling your cock twitch against my thigh and it just turns me on so much more than I originally was to begin with. Do you feel how wet I am? You are the only one who can get me so soaked. You make me feel so sexy, even when I think I'm not. You make me so –" She was cut off by her own moan as she arched her back into him, his hand having slipped out of hers as he was now teasing her entrance with his fingers.

"Are you going to keep telling me what else you do to yourself? Even if I went ahead to the next part?" House asked before pushing his fingers inside of her.

She moaned loudly as she felt her walls clench against his fingers.

"I reach into my night stand drawer and grab my vibrator, and I turn it on before using it as a substitute for you."

"Why do you use a vibrator, because of your small hands?" He teased, as she felt his fingers move inside of her.

"_God._ _Yes._" She panted not knowing if she was replying to his rhetorical question or if she was informing him that he was doing something right.

"I see. Then you just pretend that it's me…"

"It doesn't come close." She replied, pulling him by the collar of his shirt and pressing her lips against his as she felt her heart rate increase and a complete sense of pleasure fill her body as her body started to shake with her orgasm.

He leaned back against the headboard as she sat back and began to unbutton his shirt.

"I'm going to return the favor, but you're going to have to do the same I did." She purred as she reached the last button of his shirt and redirected attention to the button of his jeans.

He had no idea what had gotten into her, but he was glad it happened.

He swallowed hard as he watched her lean forward and unzip he jeans with her teeth, her ass glorified by the fabric of the skin tight red dress that clung to her curves.

He groaned as she slipped her hand into his boxers and pulled out his throbbing cock.

"Well?" She asked, her eyes seductively running over his body.

He reached for her hand and placed it over his shaft before beginning to drag it along his cock.

"Well let's see, since we're always together, I don't get to do this much anymore, but when it was frequent in the days of our pre-marriage life, when I didn't have you around every time I was horny, I would lie in bed and first…I would work my way up your body. Starting with those sculpted legs that feel so great wrapped around my back. Then I would continue to that toned ass of yours, also known as the world's best ass."

"Mhm, continue with your flattery." She teased, running her thumb over his tip and causing him to groan in approval.

"I'd think of your flat stomach and let's not forget the twins. God do I love sucking your nipples until they're hard. Could never forget the twins. Especially not the feel of them pressed against me, and the speed of your breathing when we're fucking. Then there's your neck, which by the hickey that's already forming you and I both know is one of my favorite things to get my mouth on. Then again what part of you isn't my favorite thing to get any part of my body on? Hm, and lastly there's that face. _Jesus fucking Christ, _I have never seen a more gorgeous face in my life. I don't say it often, I know, but it's true. I love picturing your face as I masturbate because your face during sex just makes me even harder. Your face shows every little detail when we're having sex. I can tell how close you are by the look on your face. I still don't know how the hell I ended up with someone like you."

He watched as she leaned forward and slipped her tongue into his mouth, her hand releasing him and moving to his face.

"'You are so fucking sexy when you use your words." She replied pulling away from him and catching him off guard when she slid down onto his shaft.

They groaned in unison, taking a second to adjust to the feeling before he grabbed onto her hips as she started to grind her hips against his. He slid his hands down to the end of her dress and pushed the shiny material up her body, pulling it over her head when she lifted her arms above her head.

He ran his eyes down her nude form, a sight he would never grow tired of seeing. He moved his hands to her chest, smirking as she threw her head back, biting her lip. He massaged her breasts, running his thumbs over her nipples until they were rock hard. He moved his mouth to her right breast, flicking his tongue over her nipple as she groaned in approval, her hand moving into his hair before guiding him to her other breast.

He released her breast and kissed her chest, running his lips up to her jaw before she captured his lips in her own. He moved his hands down to her ass, groaning as she ground her hips harder against his own.

"I love the feel of your hands on me." She murmured into his ear, letting out a small cry as he thrust upwards into her. "_Mmm._" She moaned, her mouth opening the slightest bit in pleasure.

"God, you are such a sex goddess." He groaned as he felt her increase her speed and he quickened his thrusts to meet her timing.

He could hear her panting between their frantic kisses, feeling the sweat between them as their bodies moved against the others. She arched her back and he held her hips against his own as her hair cascaded against their faces and he heard her let out a small whimper as she reached her orgasm.

He grunted as he felt her tighten around him, her breath in his ear and her nails dragging against his shoulders. He felt his own body tense and he moved his mouth to her neck, giving her a small bite as he came.

She leaned her forehead against his when they had both started to calm after their orgasms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That was…exhilarating." She whispered breathlessly, running her lips softly against his jaw. She settled against his chest, his arms wrapped around her and their legs intertwined.

"I don't know what got into you, but goddamn please do it more often." He replied resting his head over hers.

"I got caught in the moment." She replied teasingly, letting out a yawn.

She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until the sound of her phone vibrating woke her up. She groggily untangled herself from House's embrace and answered it.

"Lisa, it's Alison. Your adoptive birth mother has gone into labor. She's currently at your hospital's maternity ward."

She had never become alert so quickly in her entire life than she had in that moment. She sat up, giving House a shake before replying.

"Oh my god, okay. Thank you for letting me know, we'll be there in a few hours. Do you know how far she's got until the baby's born?"

"According to her attending she's got at least five hours of labor ahead of her."

"Okay. We'll be there in as soon as possible." She hung up the phone and gave House another shake.

"Gregory House, I swear to god if you do not wake up this instant I am going to shove you off of the bed. We're going to have another child by the end of the day."

"What?" House replied groggily, running a hand through his hair.

"The birth mother's gone into labor. Alison just called me. She's at PPTH."

"Holy shit, we don't even have a crib set up."

"It's fine. We can set the bassinet up before we take him home, but come on, get dressed. We don't want to miss this."

* * *

_So I chose "In The Heights" as the musical they saw for two reasons : one : because it was written and composed by lin-manuel miranda, aka alvie. two : because it's the musical we're doing, my last production in high school, and I have a callback on friday for one of the leads, so tell me to "break a leg" because that's how you wish an actor luck. saying "good luck" is actually bad luck, so uhm yeah, i really need the luck, so tell me to break a leg please! haha i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to leave a review!_


	56. Good Life

_Hi folks! Before I let you enjoy the next chapter, just a few things to say. There are only 9 chapters left. Yup. 9. It's time for this story to come to a close. Since I am going to try to tie together all loose ends, that also means that chapters will hopefully be longer, but the spacing between updates will be longer as well, because well,I got a lead in our school's production of "In The Heights" and my time will be consumed by theatre again, but I do have two weeks off for the holidays, so I'll try to get as much writing in as possible. One more thing, I have a request of you all? I'd really like to end this story with 1500 reviews, so it would mean a lot to me if you could leave some more reviews than usual? Other than that, have a happy holiday season and enjoy the next chapter!_

* * *

It was half past seven when they arrived at Princeton Plainsboro. Cuddy anxiously led the way as House followed suit behind her. They reached the maternity ward, not at all surprised to find their lawyer in the waiting area.

"She's still got about an hour of labor left apparently. She's seven centimeters dilated and Dr. Gillan said that she should be completely dilated within the next half hour because of the rate at which her contractions are coming."

"Gillan is a liar. She's estimating the time of birth, and majority of the time she's a few hours off. She does it on purpose to have people braced for it long before they need to be." House replied dropping down into one of the chairs.

"Shut up House. You and I know that she's great at what she does." Cuddy replied, sitting down beside him and resting her head against his shoulder.

He yawned before wrapping his arm around her. As anxious as he was to meet the new addition of their family, he was also tired. They had spent most of the night up, and to be pulled from their oh-so comfortable hotel bed before they had originally planned had left them both sleep deprived and inattentive.

"Have you two even thought about a name yet?" Allison asked, taking a sip from the cup of coffee she held in her hands.

"No." Cuddy replied yawning. "We didn't get to think of it."

"Well you have an hour, so start thinking. I'm going to go get some more coffee." Allison replied before heading towards the elevator.

"She's right." Cuddy stated as she turned to look at him.

"Do we really have to do this now?" He replied, groaning. Regardless of when they made the decision on a name, it didn't matter because they wouldn't be able to bring home the newborn for at least a day.

"Yes, we do. We at least have to have some ideas. And besides, we only need a first name, we don't need to pick a middle name." She retorted matter of factually.

"And why is that?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Because his middle name is going to be Gregory, what an idiotic question."

"Well then, if you picked the middle name, I get to pick the first name, because it has to be fitting enough to be followed by Gregory House."

"I think everything is fitting followed by Gregory House." She replied.

"If I don't think of a name, we can just call him Junior."

"No, we're not calling him Junior. One Gregory House is enough. I don't need another one. I already know he's going to be just as bad as you are. With you as a father figure, that kid is going to be the biggest prankster on the face of the planet…But he'll probably also end up being the most compassionate…"

"You're so mushy, jeez. Thank god I don't get so emotional over these things like you do."

"Oh just shut up and start thinking of names for our son."

"We could just name him Zeus. Or Artemis."

"We have a dog named Zeus, think again."

"I also said Artemis."

"No mythology related names."

"Fine. I do like the letter A though… Andrew? Alexander? Angel? No, god _no. _What the hell am I thinking with that name. It's too feminine. Also angels don't exist."

"If you're going to think of names, don't think of them out loud, how about that?" She replied resettling herself against his shoulder. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. Wake up if something happens."

He rolled his eyes. She would go to sleep and leave him on alert to make sure she didn't miss anything. He went back to his thoughts on what name to choose. His mind came across several names that would come off as exotic due to his vast knowledge of languages, but he knew that Cuddy would not be okay with naming their son "Abdullah" or "Alejandro". In the end, he had narrowed it down to three names, Adam, Aaron, and Alfred.

He yawned; feeling sleep's need to consume him but trying his best to overcome it. Knowing that if he fell asleep and missed something Cuddy would be royally pissed, and that was the last thing he needed after having such a great little vacation in the city over the past two nights.

He closed his eyes for a few minutes, and when he opened them again it was an hour later. Cuddy was still sound asleep beside him, and Allison was nowhere to be seen. He looked around and spotted Dr. Gillan exiting the doors that led to the delivery rooms and head towards them. He gave Cuddy a nudge, rolling his eyes when she didn't budge. He gave her another nudge, this time being more firm than the first, chuckling when she woke with a start.

"Gillan's making her way over here. You told me to make sure you didn't miss anything."

"You didn't need to be so abrasive." She replied, rubbing her side. "Your elbow is so bony." She complained.

"Sorry." He replied, reaching over and rubbing his hand over the affected area as Dr. Gillan reached them.

"Drs. House, Cuddy. I'm happy to inform you that your adoptive son has been born. He is a healthy baby boy at five pounds and five ounces and seventeen inches long. You can come back and meet him once he's been cleaned up." She smiled at them both, extending a hand to each. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Cuddy replied before Dr. Gillan turned and walked back through the doors.

House was almost knocked to the ground when Cuddy wrapped her arms around his neck using too much force. He was taken aback when she pressed her lips against his. The kiss was heated and he was left breathless when she pulled away. He watched her expression, her eyes shining bright like diamonds from the excitement he knew she was currently feeling.

"Our son House. _Our son_."

* * *

"He is beautiful." Cuddy cooed as she held the newborn in her arms. He was asleep, one of his small hands wrapped around her finger. She was ecstatic to have him in her arms, tears of joy threatening to spill over her eyelids.

She could feel House hovering behind her and she turned around to face him.

"Since when are you one to be shy?" She teased before carefully shifting the newborn into his arms.

"I don't remember the last time I saw a newborn, let alone held one…" He murmured, his eyes studying the tiny human in his arms.

She smiled before running her fingers across the baby's cheek when she heard the automatic door of the nursery open.

"A little birdie told me that the Houses' new addition has finally arrived." Wilson announced as he entered the room, a small brown teddy bear in hand. "Congratulations." He greeted as he reached her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you Wilson." She replied, giving him a squeeze before they released one another.

"What's the little guy's name?" He asked as he approached House, who had sit down in one of the rocking chairs in the room.

"He doesn –"

"Adam. His name's Adam Gregory Cuddy – House." House replied, cutting her off.

She was pleasantly surprised with his choice in a name for their son.

"Adam. His name is Adam. House picked the first name, I picked the middle name."

"House picked a decent name? Wow, that a surprise!" Wilson teased, chuckling as he reached for the newborn.

Cuddy watched as House gingerly shifted Adam from his arms into Wilson's.

"Oh hello there little guy. I'm your uncle Wilson. You're gonna see a lot of me growing up because your mommy and daddy are obsessed with me and can't get enough of me, and they come to me with all their problems about each other and they make me their peacekeeper. So when you're mad at them you'll come to me because I'll know just what to say. Or I'll buy you what they won't."

She laughed softly at Wilson's introductory speech, knowing it would turn out to be nothing more than the complete and utter truth. Wilson was always the peacekeeper between she and House, and she knew that when their kids were old enough they would go to Wilson when they had a disagreement with their parents. She felt House's arms around her waist and she leaned into him, holding her hands over his.

"Come with me." He whispered into her ear, taking her hand and pulling her towards the door. "We'll be back in ten Wilson. You think you can handle him on your own for that long?"

"I've got everything under control." Wilson replied sitting down in the rocking chair.

She followed House as he led her up to his office, and out the door that led to the balcony he shared with Wilson.

"It's a little cold." She murmured as she leaned against the ledge that looked over the park across the street. It was covered in snow from the snow that had fallen while they had been in New York.

"I can fix that." She heard him reply before feeling his chest against her back as he wrapped his arms around her again. She leaned her head back against him, looking up at him. She kissed the bottom of his chin, smiling as he responded by kissing her cheek. After such a long day, a moment alone was exactly what they needed.

* * *

He watched from the door of the nursery as Cuddy cooed over Adam. He had never seen her look more vibrant and happy than she currently was in that moment.

He stepped aside to let one of the nurses enter the room with a cart containing several bottles of formula he could only assume were for the newborns in the room that were not being breast fed by their mothers.

The nurse handed a bottle to Cuddy and she sat down in one of the rocking chairs, her maternal instincts kicking in as she began to feed the newborn.

House looked at his watch; it was half past seven and they had spent the entire day at the hospital. He was tired and wanted to get some sleep, but not before stopping somewhere on their way home. He had something to show her.

When she finished feeding the baby, she handed him off to the nurse, but not before kissing his forehead and audibly saying they would be back the next day. She approached him, letting out a yawn.

"Ready to go?" He asked as she reached his side.

"Yeah, let's just go grab our stuff from your office and we can go."

When they'd left the hospital they decided to stop for a bite to eat somewhere before getting home, and he took it as a chance to detour from their normal route without her realizing he had something up his sleeve.

He pulled up in front of a modern house just a few blocks away from the hospital in one of the higher class parts of the neighborhood.

"What are we doing here?" Cuddy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll see." He replied, getting out of the car and limping towards the front of the house, reaching beneath the doormat and grabbing the key, slipping it into the lock and pushing the door open. He turned to find her behind him and smirked, knowing that her curiosity would get the best of her.

He flipped on the lights and watched her expression at seeing just the foyer of the house.

"Who's house is this?" She asked, turning to face him.

"Ours." He replied smiling.

He watched in amusement as she registered what he had said, a look of complete confusing drawing across her features.

"I bought it. It's ours. Come on, let's give you a tour."

He started the tour of the completely furnished home with the den, with its black sunken in couch and sixty – seven inch flat screen, that he knew they would both enjoy. He showed her the yard through one of the glass panels that faced the back of the property. It had a pool that was currently covered with a tarp due to the winter weather, along with a hot tub. The yard was big enough for both children and the dog to enjoy as the years would go on. He showed her the kitchen with its hardwood floors and black cabinets, the island serving as a full size dining table as well.

He led her to the second floor next, going through each of the four bedrooms before showing her the master bedroom. It was bigger than the one in the house they currently lived in, adorned with a king sized Spade Canopy bed in black, with white curtains for privacy.

"This house is so beautiful… God, I can't believe you did this." She said softly.

"Tour's not over yet." He responded motioning for her to join him. He led her up a short set of stairs, at whose landing they were met with two doors facing each other. There was a gold plaque on each door, on reading one reading _'House' _and the other reading _'Cuddy'_.

She fingered the plaque with her name on it, her mouth slightly agape at her surprise.

"The offices are what sealed the deal to this place."

House stepped beside her and pushed the door to her office open.

"It doesn't have a desk because I thought you could move the one you have in your office here to your private office in the new house and get a new one to have here. Or vice versa, if you prefer…"

"It's perfect." She replied, wrapping her arms around him before pulling him in for a long and passionate kiss.

They pulled away and he knew she was genuinely pleased with his choice in the house. The wall where the door frame stood was lined with book cases. The wall to left of it was half glass, leading out to a balcony that was shared with his office. The other half of that wall consisted of a forty inch flat screen that also served as a touch screen computer monitor.

He filled her in the details of the little things in the room, his heart warmed at the brightness of her smile.

* * *

"Well where is the little boychick?" Arlene asked the second Cuddy opened the door. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her mother's use of the Yiddish term of endearment before giving her mother a kiss on the cheek and stepping aside to let her in, along with her sister and her family.

"He's in the guest room. It's his room until we move into the new house." She answered although her mother had walked away the moment she had revealed the location of her new grandchild.

"She's just excited to meet him, that's all." Julia replied as she gave her younger sister a hug. "Where's Rachel? The boys are excited to see her."

"She's in the living room with House. They're teaching Zeus how to do tricks…or attempting to at least." She responded, shaking her head in amusement.

House and Rachel had spent the last two hours on the floor of the living room attempting to teach the dog the basic tricks every dog should know and failing miserably at the current point in time. She had checked up on them a few times and had found Rachel laughing hysterically and House with a less than amused expression as Zeus did his usual routine of chasing his tail.

She greeted her brother in law Eric and was greeted by her nephews Matthew, Jake, and Andrew. She smiled as Julia's youngest, Jake greeted her by wrapping his arms around her waist. She picked him up and waited until she was sure his brother were out of sight before blowing a raspberry against his cheek.

Jake responded by kissing her cheek happily and wrapping his arms around her neck.

"How's my favorite nephew?" She whispered, careful not to be overheard by any member of Julia's family members or her mother. She had always shown a slight favoritism towards Jake and her mother and sister had always said something about it, although her mother had obviously favored Julia over herself when they were growing up.

"I'm good auntie Lisa! I lost my first tooth look!" Jake opened his mouth and smiled widely, pointing at the bottom left corner of his mouth.

"That's great Jake! How much money did the tooth fairy leave you?"

"She left me five dollars and a crunch chocolate bar!" The five year old exclaimed.

"That's awesome." She replied, carrying him into the living room.

She sat down on the couch next to House, who she assumed had given up on attempting to train the dog because Rachel and her cousins where currently playing with him.

"No luck huh?" She teased nudging him playfully.

"That dog is as dumb as a sack of bricks."

"Sacks of bricks are dumb?" Jake asked, causing Cuddy to laugh at his innocence.

"It's a figure of speech kid. Why don't you go and play with your cousin and brothers? The dog is way more interesting than your mean old aunt over here."

"She's not mean! She's the best aunt in the world."

"She's the _only _aunt you have, so of course she's the best aunt in the world." House rebuked.

Cuddy shook her head in laughter at the fact that her husband was arguing with a child.

"Jake, go play with the rest of the kids okay? You can come back to me later."

"Okay…" Jake replied pouting, before scooting off of her lap and running over to join his siblings on the other side of the room.

"Where are the Gorgon sisters?"

"Most likely kidnapping our son. It's been awfully quiet, _too_ quiet. I'm going to go check on them."

She stood and made her way towards the nursery, surprised to find her mother sitting in the rocking chair with a wide awake Adam in her arms.

"This one's going to be a pain, I can already tell." Arlene commented as Cuddy watched the newborn grab her mother's finger and proceed to stick it in his mouth.

"You said the same about Rachel too mom, and look at how she's turned out." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well she's a miniature you, so of course she's a pain. She's sassy and she's got a mouth on her. At least she doesn't talk back like you did, other than that she's you at six years old. Sometimes I wonder if she really is adopted or if you gave birth to her and just lied to me."

"I wish I could have given birth to her." She replied stiffly.

"I'm sorry Lisa, I didn't mean it in that sense." Her mother replied, for once looking as though she were genuinely sorry.

"It's fine. I know you didn't…"

"_Anyway _, in lighter topics, I brought Adam some onesies." Julia interrupted, changing the course of the topic for her sister's own good.

Cuddy let put a relieved sigh as her mind went from the sadness of never having had a child of her own to the curiosity of what her sister had purchased for her son.

"Auntie's favorite nephew, very original." She scoffed teasingly. "Because you definitely have other nephews. Mom, do you have other children I don't know about that have sons?"

"No, but I see what you mean with your sister's first choice. That's redundant Julia dear."

She watched as her sister rolled her eyes at their mother, containing a laugh.

"Are you going to let me finish showing you these or what?" Her sister huffed, clearly irritated at her family.

"Yes, of course. Keep on enlightening us with the obvious. Is the next going to say 'I'm the little brother'? Because that too would be redundant, unless you're counting the dog as one of their children." Arlene quipped.

It was rare for her to take gibes at Julia, and Cuddy couldn't help but chuckle as she watched her sister's irritation grow.

"You know what? I don't need to show you what it says, Lisa you can look at them on your own since my gesture is so 'redundant and obvious'." Julia responded before walking out of the room.

"She's so over dramatic." Arlene replied before standing from the rocking chair and handing Adam over to his mother. "I assume you've already talked to that husband of yours about planning a bris, yes?"

"So how about dinner?"

* * *

_Hope you all liked it! Don't forget to leave a review! :)_


	57. These Times Are Special

_I'm back with an update! I'm sorry it took so long, I had the worst writer's block. There's actually a completely different version to this chapter, but this one was the better one because it flowed out so easily, and only took a grand total of a little over 4 hours to write. I'll most likely start the next chapter with a little bit of what happened after this chapter ended. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Leave a review on your way out please! :)_

* * *

"Who's tia's favorite nephew? Adam es tia's sobrino preferido!"

Cuddy watched from the doorway as Kat held Adam in her arms, cooing softly in Spanish at the child.

"He's your favorite nephew?" Cuddy asked, moving into the room and sitting down on the floor in front of her best friend.

"I thought you barely knew Spanish Lisa, me mientes?"

"Todos mienten." Cuddy replied, chuckling. "I work at a hospital where we have a free clinic, in New Jersey Kat. Spanish patients who know little English walk in and out every day. I have to know something of the language."

"True, so are you excited for tonight?"

"No." Cuddy replied, pulling her knees against her chest and resting her head on top of them. Her mother had planned a bris for Adam after their dinner two weeks earlier. They had discussed it after dinner, if it could be called a discussion with Arlene doing most of the talking, listing off several reasons as to why it was necessary for the religious ceremony to take place regardless of what she and House wanted as Adam's parents. She had listed to her mother rant, letting her get what she wanted just to shut her up. Later on she was surprised when House listened to her vent her frustrations.

"Well too bad, you're going to have to deal with it. At least you'll have a lot of wine to take your mind off of it. That way you won't be a hundred percent there to deal with your mother and the rest of your crazy relatives. Is House's mother coming?"

"I don't know actually. I don't even think he told her we were adopting. I don't even think she knows anything that happened after the wedding to be honest."

"Must be nice to have parents who aren't so intrusive."

"Yeah." Cuddy replied standing and stretching. "I've got some errands to run, foods to buy, wines to buy, you think you can watch him for a bit? I'll take Rachel with me."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be fine with him for a few hours. It's not like he's a hassle anyway. He's so calm. He's going to be the good one. That one – " Kat pointed to the door as Rachel ran into the room. "Is going to be your trouble maker. Just wait for it. Girls are always the worst."

Cuddy rolled her eyes at her best friend as Rachel hugged her lower half.

"Come on honey, let's go get some stuff for the party tonight."

* * *

"You morons have three hours to stabilize our patient before my boss, aka _the _boss takes it out on me when I end up being late to our kid's bris… even if it's just something to please her overbearing hypochondriac mother." House shouted from his office as he rubbed at his leg, his team sitting at the differential table in the outer office.

"It's Lupus." Thirteen shouted back. "Already got him started on steroids, he _is _stabilized."

"Well then, I'm leaving." He replied, grabbing his cane and standing, gritting his teeth as he felt a stab of pain shoot up his thigh.

He could get home in twenty minutes and then take a few ibuprofens before attempting to sleep until Cuddy needed him to socialize with her family, and possibly his mother if she had decided to come, which he was sure she would.

He had called her the day after Arlene had forced Cuddy into the whole bris thing, filling her in on everything that had happened since he had last seen her in May when he and Cuddy had gotten married. He'd told her about Cuddy's cancer, about Adam and the bris and told her she was welcome to come down and visit, even though they currently didn't have the space for her to stay with them, but he would pick her up from a hotel if it was needed. She had told him she would let him know, and that had been two weeks earlier and he hadn't heard a word from her. He assumed she wasn't coming.

He reached the outside of the hospital, cursing the world as he noticed it had started to snow while he had been working on the case with his team. It took him several minutes to reach his car, taking precautions as to not slip in the nice that hard formed. The last thing he needed was to fall flat on his ass in the hospital parking lot when he was already in pain.

It took him a good fifteen minutes to get home. He pulled into the driveway, surprised to find Cuddy's Lexus missing. He groaned as he got out of his car, his hand automatically moving to his thigh. Taking a second to regain himself he dug the heel of his hand into it before continuing towards the front door. He unlocked the door and was immediately greeted by Zeus.

"Don't." He growled at the dog, who immediately ceased jumping. The dog usually greeted him by jumping up at him, somehow always getting him on his good thigh and not the bad one, but he didn't want to take a risk at it.

"Well you're back early." He heard Kat say as she descended from the nursery.

"Where's Cuddy?"

"She left about an hour ago, went to get some stuff ready for tonight."

"And the kids?"

"She took Rach with her. Adam's sleeping. What's up with you? Your leg bothering you or your patient die?"

"Leg." He replied before waving her off. "I'll be asleep."

"I'll make sure to tell the wife." He heard her say before he entered the bedroom and limped over to the bed.

* * *

She could not believe her luck. What were the odds that she would run into her ex fiancee while out running errands for her son's bris? She was internally panicking as she stood face to face with none other than Lucas Douglas.

"Wow...it's been what, three years?" Lucas asked and she could feel him examining her from head to toe.

"Almost four actually. I didn't know you still lived in Princeton." She replied, masking her discomfort with the smile she usually saved for difficult donors.

"Oh, I don't. I'm here on a job. Supposed to be keeping an eye on the governor's wife."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But how have you been? I see you've got got a wedding band on your hand someone's finally gotten you to settle down. Who's the lucky man if you don't mind me asking?"

She hesitated before replying.

"It's house. We got married this past May, a few weeks before our second anniversary...actually on the date of what would have been our third if we hadn't broken up for a few months..."

"That's great..."

"We're here shopping for a party for my baby brother!" Rachel announced, the six year old clearly sensing the awkwardness between the two adults, and making it even more so.

"Baby?" he relied, raising an eyebrow.

"We adopted a few weeks ago...his bris is in two hours..."

"Well that's great. Congratulations on your marriage and your newborn. It was nice seeing you Lisa."

"It was nice seeing you too Lucas." She replied, thankful for the encounter to be over.

It was odd to see an ex again after so many years, especially and ex who had almost become her husband. The thought of there having been a chance where she wouldn't have the life she currently had was unsettling. She shook the thought and finished getting everything she needed before heading to the checkout counter.

She got back to her house at around six, surprised to find house's car parked in the driveway. She wondered if he had been home for long. She knew he had a case and was sure he would have ended up being late or not being able to attend at all, which would have clearly upset her. But the fact that he was home early meant one of two things, that is patient was stable or that his patient was dead. She unbuckled Rachel from her car seat and carried her inside, leaving the bags in the trunk for a few minutes.

"Your hubby's sleeping. His leg was acting up apparently. His patient's fine by the way in case you were wondering." Kat called from the living room.

"Oh." She replied, entering the room and dropping Rachel onto the couch. "Come help me bring some bags in."

Five minutes later the bags lined the kitchen counter, ready to be emptied.

"Jeez, how much food did you get?"

"A lot so I don't have to hear my mother's mouth all night if I forgot something. Just leave it all there, she'll deal with it when she gets here. You, on the other hand need to go home and change."

"You are so right. I will see you in an hour." Kat replied before grabbing her coat off if one of the kitchen chairs and letting herself out.

Cuddy walked into her bedroom to find House actually sleeping. She smiled. He was so peaceful as he slept, his face relaxed and younger looking. She walked out of the room and back into the living room.

"Rachel, let's go take a shower."

She watched as Rachel ran ahead of her into the bathroom, letting out a soft chuckle at the girl before checking up on Adam. She entered the nursery and smiled, finding him with the edge of the teddy bear Wilson had gotten for him in his mouth. She took him out of his crib and grabbed his bouncer, wanting to be able to keep an eye on him while she and Rachel showered. She'd give House is sleep because she knew that if his leg was acting up it was better to leave him be until he was actually needed around so she figured she could wake him up after she had bathed herself and Rachel so that he could bathe and get ready.

It only took her a little over half an hour to shower, even with Rachel deciding she wanted to make a mess of soap suds. She gave Adam a sponge bath, grateful that unlike his sister he was calm in the water. When she had first become Rachel's foster parent it had been impossible to bathe her as a baby because she would start wailing the second she had felt the water against her skin, flailing her little arms and legs as much as possible until she was taken out of the baby tub.

She wrapped Adam in a towel when she heard the doorbell ring. She answered it, not at all surprised to find her sister, mother, brother-in-law, and nephews standing in front of her, an hour early.

"We came early to help." Julia informed her, reaching for the baby.

"Well then, you can take Adam and dress him." She replied, shifting her son into her sister's arms. "Mom, I went shopping and set out everything for you in the kitchen. All the finger foods you told me to buy are on the counter, the drinks are in the refrigerator. I'm going to get Rachel dressed."

She let everyone else in and shut the door before heading towards her daughter's bedroom. She was surprised to find the six year old already dressed in the light blue dress she had picked out for her, with her black Mary Jane's.

"Did you dress yourself honey?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Rachel normally did dress herself, but the dress had a zipper in the back and there was no way she could have gotten it up herself.

"Dad helped me. He walked out of your room when he heard me bump into the dresser trying to get the zippy thing up."

"Oh. Well your aunt Julia is here, and so is grandma, so go say hi to everyone okay honey? And be nice to your cousins, don't let Andrew pull your hair again okay? If he does pinch him and then tell your aunt he hit you first okay?"

If Rachel had been having a problem with someone at school, she wouldn't have told her to pinch them if they did something to her, but because it was her cousin, and she knew that over the years it would just get worse as it always did between family members of the same age, she told her to hit him back. The last thing she wanted was her daughter to think it was okay for someone to hit her without her being able to hit back; besides in the end it was all fun and games.

"Okay momma!" Rachel replied before running off towards the kitchen.

Cuddy walked into the bedroom she and House shared, finding him sitting up in bed.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I heard your leg's acting up." She replied sitting down on the edge of the bed and running her hand over his bad thigh.

"Don't."

"Don't give me that crap." She rolled her eyes before starting to knead her hands into the mangled muscle. "We've been together for too long for you to still be doing this when your leg is acting up and I want to do something to try and ease your pain when the ibuprofen won't work." She continued, as he let out a groan of pain. "Tell me to stop if I'm hurting you."

"You're not. It's helping, I can feel the muscle starting to relax." He replied.

She smirked, knowing that if she had listened to him he would probably have just let his leg to continue to feel stiff.

"Come on, I'll help you into the bathroom and you can soak your leg for a bit."

She stood, waiting for him to attempt to get out of bed in order for her to help him.

"It's fine. I can make it to the bathroom on my own. I don't need your help."

"House."

"I said I was fine Cuddy. I can make the ten feet from here to the bathroom without your help."

She rolled her eyes irately before walking into her closet to pick out something to wear.

* * *

He waited until he could hear her shifting through boxes of her shoes in the closet before attempting to stand. He gripped the bedside table for support, letting out a low growl as he put weight on his leg and his muscle protested against him. He limped into the bathroom, using everything within his rage for support.

He undressed and slipped into the bathtub before turning the water up as hot as possible. The scalding water quickly filled the bathroom with steam. The heat helped his tense and sore muscles, and after soaking for half an hour he stood and properly showered, his leg no longer hurting as badly as it had earlier.

House exited the bathroom and dressed in the bedroom, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get away with jeans and a tee shirt. He grabbed a pair of dress pants and a button down blue shirt he knew Cuddy liked. She was probably upset with him anyway, so he might as well try to get back on her good side by dressing properly.

He ran a hand through his thinning hair before grabbing his cane and walking out of the room.

The first thing he heard was Arlene complaining over something. As he approached he kitchen he could hear that she was complaining about keeping Zeus inside when they were going to be having company.

"He's staying inside. It's like five degrees outside, I'm not subjecting him to the cold just because there's going to be guests over."

"When we had Reynaldo we left him outside all the time."

"And Reynaldo died from pneumonia from sleeping outside in the cold so often."

"Dog stays inside. If anyone has a problem with him they can go home." He replied as he entered the kitchen, leaning against the doorway.

"Look who's finally come out of his cave." Arlene responded, giving him the once over before turning back to whatever she had been doing before he had entered.

It was going to be one hell of a long night.

He turned and headed to the living room, knowing it was going to be full of children that weren't his own.

"Hey House." He heard his brother-in-law say from the recliner in the corner of the room. He nodded his acknowledgement although he didn't care for the man at all. He dropped down onto the couch, the second he did so the dog running over and jumping onto the couch beside him.

"Don't do anything dumb tonight dog." He instructed as if the dog could understand him. Zeus responded by tilting his head and he reached out and pet the dog behind the ears. "If you do something dumb, the dragon lady is going to kill you." He continued, referring to Arlene, whom he was sure would throw some sort of fit if the still young pup caused a commotion.

* * *

She was annoyed with House. She wasn't going to even bother denying it. She hated that he still wasn't able to accept her help when he was in pain. How long was it going to take for it to get through his thick skull that she was always going to be around to help him? For someone so insanely brilliant he was also ridiculously idiotic.

She couldn't focus her attention on being angry at her husband though. She needed to put on her winning smile and be happy to be introducing her family to her son, even if his father was the most infuriating and frustrating person she had ever met.

She helped her mother and sister set up the dining room table with all the small foods she had spent the day shopping for, before asking Julia to send her husband out to get some ice for the cooler.

It was seven thirty when the doorbell started ringing. The first to arrive was Wilson, and she knew he could tell from her expression that she was currently annoyed. He gave her a sympathetic smile before walking into the living room. Next to arrive where her cousins Katie and Ryan from Manhattan, along with their families. Within in an hour her home was filled between a mix of colleagues and family members.

When it was time for the ceremony to begin the _mohel_ called for quiet in the living room. Cuddy reached for Adam, who was currently being cooed over by one of her distant relatives from her father's side before handing him to Wilson to bring him _mohel_, Rabbi Schneider. It was traditional for a respected friend or family member to bring the child to the front of the room. She looked around for House, surprised to find him already at the front of the room before making her way towards him. Wilson handed Adam to House as the _mohel _began to recite a blessing. When he was finished, House handed Adam to her and she held him in her arms as the _mohel_ preformed the circumcision before saying a blessing over a cup of wine and putting a few drops of wine into the infant's mouth before handing her the cup. It part of tradition for the parents to drink the rest of the cup after the ceremony was finished. She drank half of the cup before giving the remainder to House.

He took the cup from her and finished it in one gulp before placing it on the table behind him.

"There's actual food in the kitchen." She announced handing Adam, who had started screaming during the ceremony to Kat as she heard the doorbell ring.

She wondered who it could be. It was almost ten o'clock. She pulled the door open, surprised to find House's mother standing before her.

* * *

"Hi mom." He said as he came up behind Cuddy. He'd followed her to answer the door because he wanted to corner her afterwards to at least make things a little better between them.

"Hello son. I'm sorry I'm late. The taxi got lost on the way here from my hotel." She replied pulling him into a hug. "I brought you all a little something." She continued, handing him a small gift bag.

"You didn't have to…" He replied awkwardly, putting the bag down on the table near the door where the rest of the presents that had been brought for Adam had been placed.

"And Lisa, I swear, you get prettier every time I see you. I'm so glad you're in the clear now." Blythe said pulling her daughter-in-law in for a hug.

He awkwardly shifted his weight onto his good leg as he watched Cuddy and his mother interact. The two women chatted to catch up before he heard his mother ask about the newest addition.

"So where is the little fella?"

"Zeus or Adam?" House replied, watching her confusion.

"Zeus is the dog. We got him a little before Christmas. Adam is currently with his god mother." Cuddy replied, glaring at House before showing his mother into the living room. He followed suit and watched as his mother met Cuddy's family members that had not been in attendance at their wedding before meeting her newest grandchild.

"Oh, he is beautiful." She cooed, rubbing the tip of her finger against the infant's cheek.

House nodded in agreement. He didn't know how to react to the current situation; he was still surprised his mother had come. He had honestly expected her to be a no show.

"Is he difficult?" She asked, trying to find something to converse with her son over.

"He sleeps like a log. I thought we'd be up with a screaming kid at all hours of the night but it's rare for him to wake up during the night."

"You are helping her take care of him right?"

"Do I look like a dead beat?" He replied, trying to mask his sudden irritation at his mother.

"I was only joking son. I know you'll take care of this little one was much as you need to." She replied, handing the infant back to his mother.

"I should get going; I only wanted to stop by for a bit to see how you all were. My flight leaves in the morning."

He nodded, leading his mother to the door.

"It was good seeing you mom."

"It was nice seeing you too son. Take care."

She pulled him in for another hug, kissing his cheek before waving goodbye.

* * *

Cuddy could tell that House was irritated by his mother's subtle suggestion that he help her with Adam. _She _was irritated by it. House had been as helpful as possible when it came to Adam's care. They alternated feeding him when he woke up screaming or needed a diaper change. She was actually surprised at how well House had been doing when she knew that deep down he most likely doubted himself and his abilities to be a good father to their children.

She waited for him to return from letting his mother out and when several minutes passed and he didn't come back she went out to look for him.

She found him sitting on the front steps and sat down beside him. There was silence between them for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry I'm such an ass. I should have just let you help me, but you know I don't like getting help from people. Especially not because of my leg. I don't want to be pitied, or looked at as weak because of my leg pain."

"We're married, you're going to have to accept my help at some point. Preferably sooner rather than later. I don't help you out of pity, I help you because we help the ones we love. I don't see you as weak, because you are the complete opposite of weak, and I wish you could see that."

"You can't always get what you want."

"I know." She paused before changing the topic from their little argument earlier to the situation with his mother. "You're a great father to both of our kids. Don't ever let anyone else make you think otherwise."

"You say that now. Who knows if you'll be saying that in ten years?"

"I know I will because you're great with Rachel and Adam, and I know that's not going to change."

"Okay."

"Come on, let's go back inside." She replied, reaching her hand out to him.

She smiled when he took it and they walked inside, their hands linked.


	58. You've Got The Love

_I sincerely apologize for the delay in an update. I had rehearsals for "Macbeth" and as assistant stage manager, it was essential that i be there for every rehearsal. Also, I'm sorry it's so short. One more thing, I think I might be cutting this fic short. I know i said a few chapters ago that it would have 9 chapters left, making it end at 65, but I think I'm going to end it at 60. So the end is quite possibly near, but fear not, a sequel will be in the works. Enjoy your reading, i'll try to post the last two chapters in the next month._

* * *

"Thank god tonight is finally over. It's been the longest day I've had in a while."

"Thank god your loony relatives are gone is more like it. God if your mom had complained one more time about the dog being inside the house with people over I would have left with the dog and spend the night at the apartment."

"Poor Zeus, getting scolded so often by my mom; at least no one else complained about him. He's a friendly dog, people were going to love him. I don't see why she cared so much that we left him inside."

"Because your mother the most controlling woman in the world. That's why."

"Thank you captain obvious." She replied, rolling her eyes.

He chuckled.

"You'll never guess who I ran into today by the way." She said suddenly, and he watched as she sat up.

He propped himself up on an elbow and waited.

"Lucas. It was the most awkward encounter of my life."

"I bet." He replied stoically.

It honestly set him off that after so long she had run into her ex, the man whom she had been engaged to prior to starting a relationship with him. An engagement she had ended after two days to start their relationship.

"Don't be like that." She replied, reaching over and putting her hand on his cheek. "I'm so glad I chose you over him. I don't even know what I saw in him. I was wrong to have started seeing him in the first. I should have just been with you right off the bat." She leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

He groaned when he felt her straddle him, his hands instinctively moving to her hips. He felt her run her hands along his chest and he slipped his hands into her bottoms, grabbing onto her ass and giving it a firm squeeze, smirking against her mouth as she let out a soft moan. He took his hands out of her pants only to have them pull them down and he grinned as she pulled them off before moving her hands to his boxers and pulling his erection free.

Before he could murmur a word he felt her mouth against his cock and he let out another groan as he felt her run her tongue against his penis, its warmth sending an unexpected shiver down his spine.

"Jesus, Cuddy." He shuddered as she gave his scrotum a squeeze.

"I don't believe in Jesus, I'm a Jew, remember?" She replied teasingly, as she released him before straddling him again and guiding him into her.

* * *

Cuddy bit her lip as she guided House into her, throwing her head back as a feeling of intense pleasure coursed through her. She felt his hands slide up her waist to pull her shirt over her head before she leaned forward to press her lips against his.

"Are you sure you're almost fifty?" She heard him ask teasingly against her lips. "Because there's no way in hell someone who's your age should have such a great ass and such perky tits."

"I could say the same about you. No one nearing sixty should have the stamina of a teenage boy. Not to mention the arousal." She replied.

She took one of his hands in her own as they continued to kiss, their bodies pressed as tightly as possible. She moaned as she felt his other hand slip down between them, his fingers rubbing against her clit. She could feel her orgasm building up as thrust into her and his hand rubbed against her.

"Fuck." She moaned, feeling herself close to the edge.

She gasped as he flipped her over and then onto her back. She moaned again as he entered her from behind, her muscles tightening around him as she felt his lips against her back and his hands massaging her breasts. His lips moved to her neck and she reached a hand behind her and held it against his cheek as she felt her orgasm take control of her.

She whimpered as she came, her body trembling as she heard him groan as he spilled into her. When they finished and he pulled out of her she turned to face him, still attempting to catch her breath.

"I feel like it's always the best sex when it's the least expected." He panted running a hand along her side.

"I completely agree." She replied, laying her head against his chest. "The best way to end such a long day."

* * *

"I need you to help us start moving into the new house." House said as he dropped down onto the couch in Wilson's office.

"You bought that house two months ago, how have you not moved in yet?"

"Was having an elevator put in so I don't have to go up so many stairs all the time." He replied, taking a bite of his lunch.

"Seriously, you had an elevator put in?"

"Yes, I did. We have the money for it, so why not? Plus, I'm really not going to climb up so many stairs. No way in hell. My leg will give out and I'll fall down the stairs, crack my head open, and die. And if that's not the case, the fact that my thigh is missing half of it is a valid reason to have an elevator installed in my new house."

"Well you can use the stairs on occasion like you should to help strengthen your leg."

"No, It's okay. But anyway, as I was saying before we veered onto this oh so unimportant topic, I need you to help us start moving in. I've already got my team in on it because I told them they wouldn't have to do clinic hours, so it's basically free labor; the perks of being married to your boss eh?"

"Does that apply to me too?" Wilson asked raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not, you're my best friend, it's your job to help me move."

"That's funny because I don't recall you ever helping me move."

"Bum leg, remember? See you Saturday!"

With that he exited Wilson's office, smirking.

* * *

"Holy crap, just how much money do you two make?" Thirteen asked as Cuddy gave her and Masters a tour of the house as the men loaded in some of the furniture they wanted to bring into their new home and heavier boxes into the home House had purchased two months earlier.

"Apparently, a lot." Masters replied, looking at the wall of glass that faced the yard.

"Actually, don't look at me when it comes to this. He used his own money to buy this place. We have our joint account, and our own separate accounts. He _is _a world renown diagnostician after all."

"Who knew House had such a romantic side to him, god, I would have never expected something like this of him."

"_I _didn't even expect this of him." Cuddy replied. "It was a pleasant surprise."

"And the fact that it's already furnished too, Jesus. Who knew he had such great taste? I'm in awe." Thirteen continued.

Cuddy let out a laugh at her employee's shock and disbelief at a different side of her husband.

"He probably had an interior decorator come in and do it." Masters commented as they made their way to the kitchen of the dwelling. "This kitchen is beautiful though, especially the island."

"I know. I can't believe I'm moving into this place. It's nice. Leaving behind the old house and moving here."

"Well what can we help with?" Thirteen replied before beginning to shift through some of the boxes that were already on the counter.

"Putting dishware and kitchen utensils away, I mean that's all there really is to do right now since the men are putting the furniture into the rooms they need to go to, and honestly I didn't even decide to keep a lot of furniture. Everything that's being moved is our clothes and the kid's stuff. House also had some of his things from his apartment moved over; his books and of course his piano." Cuddy explained, grabbing a stack of plates from Thirteen and putting them into one of the cabinets.

"It doesn't bother you that he's kept his apartment? I mean it's been what, over three years? I mean sure there was that break you two took but from what I was told that lasted only three months…"

"No, it doesn't bother me at all. I actually like that he's kept his place. I mean a lot of our good memories are there. I mean, sure I broke up with him there, but that's also where we started our relationship. We spent a lot of the beginning of our relationship at his place. Not only that, but now that we've been back together for almost three years and married for almost one we use his place as a getaway. Or if we get into a really bad argument, he'll go there to cool off. It gives us some space when we really need it."

"Wow…You two are so much more functional than everyone thinks you to be. Everyone just assumes you two have a fight and fuck relationship. You fight, then you fuck to make up for it."

Cuddy couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of Thirteen's statement.

"Oh god, no. At first if we fought, we would let it roll over for days until one of us acted like it never happened or I tried to talk to him about it, which only ended in another argument about how I was overreacting, or he was being an asshole."

"And now?" Masters asked, clearly as interested in the dynamic of her bosses' relationship as Thirteen was.

"Now we talk things out. We mean too much to one another to let a petty argument get in the way. There's more to lose now."

"Relationships 101 from Dr. Lisa Cuddy." House said as he entered the room and grabbed a few beers from the refrigerator

"When did you even put those in there?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Uhm, last night. I snuck by after my patient was diagnosed. Can't move into a house and not have beers for the free laborers who are moving our things in for us. And I guess the women who are seeking relationship advice."

"We were talking about how domesticated you are." Thirteen retorted, taking a beer from his hand and opening it with her teeth.

"I am not domesticated." He replied, feigning offense.

"Okay, because a man who's not domesticated goes out and buys his wife and family a house that is well worth a the 750,000 dollars."

"Who says you have to be domesticated to spend big? I'm still the same inconsiderate asshole I've always been except I've gotten married and have two kids and a dog. No big deal."

"Definitely a big deal," Chase commented entering the room. "I'm sorry, I've worked for you for over ten years now, I never thought I'd see the day where you were married with kids. Let alone married. You hate to believe it, but people do change; whether you'd like to admit it or not."

"Now, now children. I think it's time to stop patronizing your father." Cuddy replied laughing as she watched House roll his eyes.

"I hate you all. I would fire you if I could, but I don't want her up my ass about it later on." He replied, narrowing his eyes at everyone in the room.

"Domesticated." Thirteen murmured under her breath, causing the room to erupt into laughter before taking a triumphant gulp of her beer.

* * *

_Let me know what you thought! :)_


	59. Locked Out of Heaven

_An early Valentine's Day gift. You can see the outfit Cuddy's wearing over at /untitled/set?id=71526767. Enjoy the penultimate chapter. The last chapter will be posted on 3/13, because it marks the 2 year anniversary of this story. Anyway, it's 2:20am, I have to be up in less than four hours, so enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to leave a review! even if it's just one word, they mean the world to me. Enjoy!_

* * *

There was nothing House hated more in life than social events that took place in his home. It meant two things. One, that there would be people in his home that he most likely would not have had there on most occasions, sans for the few people he actually enjoyed having around, and two, that there was no way out of said social event _because _it took place in his home.

He sat at the foot of the bed, taking his sweet time to get dressed as he watched Cuddy hustle around the room collecting the accessories she needed before slipping into the bathroom to shower. He really didn't want to deal with the people who would be arriving in less than two hours for the dinner slash housewarming party Cuddy had decided to throw for their first wedding anniversary. He would have rather preferred to have gone away for the weekend, or maybe even spend a week away from everyone else in the tropics, just he and his wife.

It was still odd to think of Cuddy as his wife, even though he had a year before their marriage to get used to the idea, along with the complete year of marriage they were currently celebrating. Two years was clearly not enough to accept that fact. He had never thought he would see himself married, let alone to Lisa Cuddy. His relationship with Cuddy throughout the years had been so turbulent, even before they were dating, and when they finally became a couple it was the calm before the storm; the storm being their unexpected breakup. He would have never believed it if someone had told him that she would have given him as second chance after his relapse, let alone forgiven him years later when he was to slip again.

Somehow they had managed to make it work between them; their dysfunction becoming functional, their ways of communicating changing for the better, and although he would never admit it, his old ways had changed for the better.

He stood, limping over to the walk-in closet of their new home and heading towards his side of the closet, which contained mostly jeans and graphic tee shirts, with a select few dress shirts, slacks, and blazers in the mix. He pulled out a dark grey button down because he knew that if he chose anything other than that Cuddy would pick the shirt out for him. He knew it would match what she was wearing, and although he couldn't care less about their color palates matching, he knew she cared. He was already wearing a pair of slacks and of course his signature look, a pair of Nike sneakers.

House pulled on the shirt and began to button it until he felt a slim pair of hands run embrace him from behind. He stopped with two buttons left before turning around and looking down at Cuddy, who was currently wrapped in a towel.

"Can you believe we've been married for a year?" She questioned, a small smile forming on her lips as she looked up at him.

"Actually, yes, I can." He replied, feeling the corners of his mouth turn upwards into a small smile.

* * *

She scanned the closet for the dress she had specifically gotten a few days earlier specifically for the occasion and dropped her towel as she grabbed it, revealing her silver thong and her braless chest.

"Letting the girls go free tonight?" She heard House ask, and she could feel his eyes on her chest as she stepped into the dress before slipping it up her body.

"No, built in bra." She replied, adjusting her breasts once she had slipped her right arm into the sleeve of the grey and glittered one shoulder dress.

"Damn, I was hoping I'd get to see your nipples harden through your dress later on when we're alone."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for being so insensitive to your perversions." She teased before stepping into her pair of grey and glittered pumps.

"You look like a disco ball with so much glitter. You're so shiny."

"It's fine, this disco ball will make your head spin round at the end of the night." She winked at him before exiting the closet and walking towards her mahogany dresser and pulling out a silver watchband bracelet, along with silver bangles and sliding them onto her left wrist. She applied a light layer of make up before running a brush through her hair; she wasn't in the mood to blow dry it or straighten it, but she also wasn't going to let it dry out into tangled curls, so she picked the middle ground. Brushing it out would leave it to dry in waves, with the bottoms curled.

"You know, we have just enough time for a quickie before anyone shows up." She heard him suggest as she headed towards the door.

"You should have suggested that before I did my make-up and hair." Cuddy replied turning to face him for a brief moment, only to find him standing directly behind her. She felt his hands slip down to her waist and pull her against him before his lips were against her neck, sucking at the skin between her throat and clavicle.

"_House_." She moaned reluctantly pushing him away. "Save it for later okay?" She would have loved nothing more than to be able to have sex with him right then and there but she knew they were scarce on time and soon their guests would be arriving. "I promise it will be worthwhile." She winked as she pressed her lips against his. She pulled away and opened the door to their bedroom and walked down the hallway into the nursery to check on Rachel and Adam.

"Momma, you look really pretty." Rachel commented when she entered the room, and Cuddy couldn't help but smile at the sincerity in her daughter's voice.

"Thank you sweetie." She replied, bending down to give her daughter a kiss on the top of the head.

She heard a series of babbles erupt from the crib to her left and she walked over to it, amused to find Adam on his stomach with his little head held high and his blue eyes alert.

"Oh hello there my handsome boy." She cooed, running her fingers through his light brown hair before scooping him into her arms. "You are going to be cooed over by so many people tonight, because you are just that irresistible." She continued, kissing his cheek. "Rachel, come on, let's go down stairs so you can help me get some stuff ready for everyone okay?"

"Ok!" The five year old replied, bounding up from her seat on the ground and running into the hallway. Cuddy knew she was running to hit the button for the elevator that House had had installed for the times when his leg would be acting up and he wouldn't be able to make it up the stairs. She had opposed to the idea at first, but as always had given in because she was unable to say no to him.

She reached the elevator just as the doors dinged open and stepped inside, not having to press the button to the first floor of their three story home because Rachel had already done so. When the doors dinged open on the first floor, they were greeted by an overly excited Zeus, who was no longer a puppy, but now reached the height of her mid-thigh.

She walked into the kitchen, placing Adam in his bouncer in the middle of the island where she knew he would be safe and in her line of sight at all times before reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out all of the finger foods she had bought at the store. The cater was due to arrive at any moment with the assortments of foods she had ordered; there was no way she was going to cook on her anniversary, especially if she had decided to combine it with the housewarming party she had never had when they had moved in a month ago. She had invited a little over thirty people, which she knew was much to House's dismay seeing as he hated socialization with anyone who wasn't a part of his team or Wilson. The people she had invited were merely their colleagues she was closest to, House's team, and of course their family members.

"Rachel, do me a favor and take some of those cans and put them in the fridge, please." Cuddy asked, pointing to several open boxes of sodas. At that moment the doorbell rang and she took Adam out of his bouncer and carried him to the door with her as she answered it, knowing it was the caterers. She lead them inside and into the kitchen, instructing them where to leave the containers of food before leading them back the door and handing them a generous tip for the delivery of the foods.

She proceeded back into the kitchen, and just as she was about to place Adam back in his bouncer the doorbell rang again. She walked back over to it and looked through the peep hole to see Kat, along with her kids, Sarah and Ben.

"Toma, I bought you this." Kat stated as she handed her a rectangular package, with a bow around it. "Don't open it until later." She continued, taking Adam and heading towards the kitchen.

"Actually, it's a gift from the three of us combined. Can't say more than that." Sarah replied, giving her adoptive aunt a hug.

"Sarah!" Rachel squeaked as she ran towards the girl whom she knew as her cousin.

"So Ben, are you going to tell me what it is?" Cuddy asked as he hugged her.

"No can do Aunt Lisa, I've been sworn to secrecy." He replied as he pulled away, shaking his head.

"Well damn it." She replied laughing, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

House could not believe the amount of people that were currently in his home. The thirty he had believed Cuddy had invited had turned into a little over seventy people. He watched from a chair in the corner of their backyard as most of them socialized with one another. He spotted his fellows in a corner, standing together. Thirteen had an arm linked with Masters; the two had become close friends since beginning to work together. Foreman and Taub stood side by side, reminding House of Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Chase on the other hand had a blonde attached to his side. If it were not for the fact that he was currently extremely comfortable in his position, he would have limped over to investigate.

"Brought you some scotch." Wilson said as he appeared from the crowd and dropped into the chair opposite House's, handing him a glass of the amber liquid.

"Who needs one wife when I've got two." He replied, taking a gulp of his drink and putting it down on the table beside him.

"Speaking of wives, where is yours?"

"Probably gossiping with the five hundred people she's invited here tonight."

"They'll be gone in like two hours, then you'll have your little mansion back to yourself."

"Why can't they just be gone nowwww?" House groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance.

"Because your wife wanted to have an party for your first anniversary and you agreed so that you wouldn't have to spend the night on the couch."

"I could have said no, it's a pretty comfortable couch."

"But you didn't, so now you must face the wrath of guests in your house."

"Next time she asks, I'm saying no."

"Next time who asks what?" Cuddy asked as she wrapped her arm around his neck before dropping into his lap.

"No one." He replied, winding his arm around her waist before shooting a laughing Wilson a deadly glare.

"Oh, okay." She replied, her tone clearly stating that she did not believe a word he said. "Anyway, come inside. Apparently Kat…and Wilson, have a toast prepared for us."

House watched as Wilson stopped laughing and sunk down into his chair.

"Who's laughing now?" House jeered as Cuddy removed herself from his lap.

He stood, following after her as she made her way through the throng of people and into living room where there were two chairs set up away from the rest of the room.

"You two, go sit in those chairs. I'm going to go collect everyone else." Kat instructed, leading them both to the empty seats.

"I swear to god, the things I do for you Cuddy. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Remember what I said about later tonight." She replied, winking.

* * *

She honestly had no idea what Kat had up her sleeve and knowing her best friend, it could range from touching to head-in-your knees embarrassing. She really hoped it was the former.

She watched as everyone she had invited gathered around them, filling in to the room.

"Alright, now that I've gathered you all in here, we can get this show on the road!" Kat exclaimed, pulling Wilson to stand next to her. "As many of you may or may not know, I'm Kat, Lisa's, excuse me Cuddy's, best friend, and this is Wilson, Greg – or as you all know him, House's best friend."

"Now, when Cuddy sent out the invitations to this shindig, Kat showed up to my office one afternoon, and what's going to happen next came to mind, and we planned it out." Wilson stated as Ben entered the room with a projector and a laptop. He set up the projector to face the wall House and Cuddy were currently facing, forcing everyone to turn around.

"Oh my god." Cuddy murmured, shaking her head as she realized what was about to happen.

"A guarantee it is a power point or something of the sort about our relationship." House replied from her side.

"I have had the pleasure of knowing Lisa since our freshman year at Michigan State, circa 1985. I dormed with her, partied with her, studied with her, etcetera, all of the things you do with someone in college. I also watched her become slightly infatuated with a certain graduate named Gregory House."

Cuddy watched as a picture she didn't even know existed appeared on the wall. It was of her and House during the dance that had led to their one night stand. She turned her head to look at him, smiling at his expression of disbelief.

"Honey, you didn't get a yearbook that year because it was irrelevant to your life, but I did and this was in there." Kat teased.

"Well, after that, they went their separate ways, because House got expelled for cheating on an exam." Wilson continued, picking up where she had left off. "Cuddy graduated from Michigan in the top ten of her class and House graduated number three in his class at John Hopkins, solely because he refused to allow himself to be numbers two or one, so he wouldn't have to write a speech. He also skipped out on his graduation."

Wilson's joke elicited laughter from the guests, Cuddy herself chuckling because it was exactly like House to skip out an event in his life so that he wouldn't have to write a speech.

"So fast forward a good ten years after their meeting, to 1995. I'm sitting in the nursery, feeding Ben, when my phone rings, and it's Lisa, calling me up to tell me that none other than _the _Gregory House has showed up at her hospital looking for a job. Believe me, I was in shock too, okay."

"At this point, I've been working at PPTH for a good two years, and I'd met House three years prior to that, so I gave her a good word about him, unknowing that she knew exactly who he was. So she gave him the job, and I think the rest is pretty much history." Wilson stated as he nodded at Ben, who changed the picture projected onto the wall to a video.

"Oh god, what else could they possibly have planned to show us." House groaned from beside her.

Cuddy playfully nudged him in the side. She was actually enjoying the little presentation their friends had set up for them.

The video started off with a few pictures of them together from hospital events. They were pictures of them where they were clearly posing for the camera. The first set of pictures was interrupted by the first of what would be a few testimonials from people they knew.

"Cut the crap Chase, we all know you're pretty, stop checking yourself out in the camera lenses and talk." Wilson's voice was heard as the image of Chase checking his teeth and hair in the eye of the camera.

"Are you recording?" Chase asked as he raised an eyebrow at the camera.

"Clearly." Wilson was heard replying.

"Oh, well then." Chase said as he straightened himself out. "Uhm, hi Dr. Cuddy. Hi House. Happy first anniversary! I don't think you two understand how many bets we had going from the moment we started working for you to see how long it would take for you two to get together, and who would initiate the relationship. I won of course. I knew Cuddy's denial would cave. Actually, I cheated because I was hoping that House would cave first, because that would have been a shocker to us all. But I was right in the bet that said House would actually propose and not Cuddy. Anyway, congrats on your one year. No we didn't have a bet to see if you'd make it, nor do we have a bet on how many more years you'll last. May you have many more years to come, I'm glad you two have got each other. Everyone deserves to have someone."

The image of Chase faded, and turned into another series of pictures. These pictures were far more comfortable than the first set; they no longer looked posed, it looked as though they were actually enjoying the moment in each other's company.

"God, am I really making a testimonial for House and Cuddy's first anniversary? I never thought I'd see the day where you two would be married. Okay, actually I did because you two were really bad at hiding your attraction to one another. The fact that Cuddy could never say no to you also made it obvious that there were more than just friendly feelings there. Happy Anniversary to you both, and may you not get divorced because I'm pretty sure it'll be hell for all of us."

Cuddy watched as House chucked beside her at Foreman's speel. She felt him wrap his arm around her and pull her close as she laid her head against his shoulder. Again the video was replaced by another series of pictures. The pictures where from the point in time where they were closest in their professional relationship; just around the time when she had adopted Rachel and she and House had shared their first kiss. She could see the difference in those pictures from the ones that had been shown so far. She could tell how House's arm wrapped around her waist in a picture from the Christmas party where they were a little too tipsy, looked like it belonged there. She could tell how in her eyes there was a different look as in one of the pictures she looked up at him. She couldn't help but smile.

* * *

House would never admit that although the current display before him was extremely corny, that it was a nice gesture put on by his friends. He rolled his eyes as the pictures faded once more into another video, this time featuring Taub, Thirteen, and Masters.

"Happy Anniversary, don't ask for an open marriage, don't lie to each other about your feelings, and let your marriage last longer than mine." Taub stated indifferently before walking out of the frame.

"I don't have much to say due to the fact that I came into the picture and you two were already in a relationship, but I can say that as infuriating as House is, I consider you both almost like my 'work parents'. I get yelled at for doing things from by both of you, praised by one of you, and in the end guided to be a better doctor by both. Happy Anniversary, here's to many more."

House shook his head at Masters' little speech as he watched her walk out of the frame, leaving Thirteen standing there awkwardly. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her take a deep breath, curious in what she had to say.

"I've worked at PPTH for six years in total, and I have never seen two people fall harder for each other than I have with House and Cuddy. It was honestly a game of cat and mouse from my perspective, and the hold of power _constantly _shifted. Then it happened, but I wasn't here for that. Then it ended, but again I wasn't here for that. Then it happened, again. And apparently only like three months after it ended, but that's not the point. The point is that well, three years later you're celebrating your first wedding anniversary. I'm happy for you both because you deserve it. You only live once, and why in the world would you want to live alone? Happy Anniversary."

Out of all of the videos from his ducklings, House had to admit that the most honest ones came from Thirteen and Chase, the two whom he secretly favored. Instead of the video fading into another photo montage, it faded into several other videos, all from colleagues of the hospital who happened to be good friends with Cuddy. Like the videos from his fellows, they mostly talked about how they watched himself and Cuddy fall for each other and how they were happy for them.

He never realized how obvious it might have been to those who were around them other than his fellows, that through their banter and push-and-pull relationship, he and Cuddy had ended up falling in love with one another.

When the videos faded, another series of photos appeared. These were fairly recent, spanning from their wedding to the previous month when they had decided to take a night out with Wilson, his girlfriend, and Kat.

A few of the pictures were of him sitting across or beside Cuddy during her chemo sessions. He had no idea who had taken them, but was sure it had been either Wilson or Chase because other than himself they were the two who were most interactive with her during her sessions. They kept her entertained when he could not.

House turned his head to look at Cuddy, not at all surprised to find her wiping her eyes. He shook his head, as he looked down at her, rubbing his thumb against her side as a form of comfort.

"So much history between us." She whispered.

"A lifetime's worth." He replied.

The pictures faded again.

"You're probably tired of seeing all of these videos. But I'm not sorry." Kat said as she stood with Ben and Sarah in the frame of the camera. "Bear with it, after us, you have one more video left. Anyway, Lisa, I'm happy for you because you're finally with this idiot, and you have the beautiful family you deserve. Te quiero y Happy Anniversary."

"Aunt Lisa, I've never seen your eyes light up the way they do like when you're talking about House. He makes you so happy, and I can only hope that I find I love like that. Happy Anniversary!"

"You two are the definition of dysfunction, but it works for you. You've got a keeper, and I'm talking to both of you. Don't screw it up. Happy Anniversary."

He couldn't resist but chuckle at the message from Kat's youngest.

Finally the last video started to play, and it was from no one other than Wilson.

"You two are the most infuriating people on the face of the planet and I think we all know that no one else has experienced it firsthand like I have. I've known you both for over twenty years and have been in the work environment with you since 1995, and it's 2014, so that's nineteen years, and I spent fifteen of those nineteen years waiting for you two to realize how stupid you were for not attempting a relationship right off the bat, because let's face it, no one can handle either of you better than the other can. I have never seen anyone make either of you as happy as you make each other, and I've been around to witness your romantic relationships with other people. I mean, it took so long for you two to get it together that when it finally happened, I didn't believe you. Even when Cuddy confirmed it, I didn't believe it until I had proof…Which happened to be Cuddy grabbing House's crotch in the middle of my office…Anyway, I watched you two change for one another, then I watched you break up because you're morons. Then I watched you get back together, and build up to the point where you are now. House, Cuddy is your rock, tell her that. Cuddy, House is your heart, tell him that. Happy Anniversary to my closest friends; I love you guys, and I hope there are many more to come."

Wilson's video ended and that was the end of the presentation. House looked at his watch. It had been over an hour of basically watching a history of his relationship with Cuddy. All he could say was that at least it was entertaining, and skipped out on the darker parts of their relationship.

It would have made him uncomfortable if his hallucination or rehab stint had come up, or even worse, the step backwards in their relationship when he was released from rehab only to find that Cuddy had started a relationship with Lucas, one of the two people he considered his friend at the time.

He watched as Wilson and Kat approached them.

"That was great." Cuddy commented, wiping her eyes.

He couldn't help but shake his head at the fact that she was still crying.

"It was corny." He replied, eliciting an eye roll from both Kat and Wilson.

"Well someone knows how to appreciate a nice gesture." Kat said embracing Cuddy.

"I'm going to hug you." Wilson stated.

"No you're n – "

He was cut off by Wilson's embrace.

"I'm not letting go until you hug back."

He had had every intention to stand with his arms at his side until Wilson had let go, but when he heard his threat, House caved and for once in their friendship, gave his closest friend a hug.

"Don't get used to it. It'll most likely never happen again."

"Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

It was hours later when everyone had finally cleared out. Cuddy dropped down onto the sunken in couch in the middle of their living room, handing House a glass of wine before curling into his side.

"God, it's good to have the house back to just ourselves." She yawned. "Don't ever let me have this many people over again." She continued. She had always wanted to throw a big dinner party and now that she had, it was something she wouldn't need to do again in her life time. Once was enough.

"You ever do this again and I won't be there. I'll skip out on it and spend the night at the apartment." He replied and she knew he was serious.

"Thank you for letting me do this by the way. I know how uncomfortable you get in social situations…Especially ones you can't escape."

He grunted his acknowledgement, causing her to chuckle before climbing on top of him, perching herself on her hunches.

For some reason whenever he chose to reply with a sound instead of actual speech, it amused her. She leaned forward and playfully bit his neck, letting out a small growl. She laughed as he responded by biting her shoulder, his growl sounding closer to a lion's roar than to a growl.

"The lion and his lioness." She said aloud bringing their faces together.

"The King and his Queen." He replied, wrapping his arms around her neck as he sat up.

She wrapped her legs around him before pressing her lips against his. Their lips moved perfectly against the other's, almost as if they shaped to mold together without a problem. Their tongues meshed together and her hands moved into his hair as she felt his right hand move up to the back of her neck while the other pulled her as close as humanly possible.

There was nothing she enjoyed more than the moments before they had sex, their foreplay always leaving them both more than ready to have their needs fulfilled. She loved the feeling of his hands tugging at the fabric which kept her body from reaching contact with his. She loved running her fingers through his hair and toying with the little curls at the nape of his neck. She absolutely adored the feel of his lips against her own, their tongues meshing, teeth clashing. She loved when he pulled her bottom lip between his teeth, causing her to let out a helpless whimper.

She could feel his erection against her thigh and she let out a small yelp as he pressed her against the spacious seat of the couch. His lips started to roam her neck, his hands massaging her breasts through the fabric of her dress. She let her head fall back as the chill of his lips send shivers down her spine. Her breath increased as he worked his way down her body, his hand sliding up her dress, causing her to moan when she felt the warmth of his hand against her breast, the pad of his thumb running over her nipple, his mouth sucking at the point where her shoulder and neck met.

She gasped when she felt his hand slide between her legs, her chest tightening in anticipation.

* * *

He wrapped his finger against the string of her thong, sliding it down her leg before throwing it over his shoulder.

He pressed a finger against her, not at all surprised to find her more than ready for him. He loved how turned on her could make her in a matter of minutes. He pressed his thumb against her clit, using his other hand to hold her down against the couch as she squirmed above him.

"Jesus Christ." She moaned above him, and he smirked, knowing that he was the only one who could get her so aroused.

House slipped two fingers into her and bit his lip as he felt her muscles clench around his fingers as he pumped them into her. He could feel her back arching towards him as he heard the whimpers of approval she was emitting. Her muscles started to pulsate against his fingers and knowing she was near the edge he removed his fingers from her and instead pressed his mouth against her.

The animalistic moan that left her lips as he pressed her hips into the couch, his tongue circling her clit as her thighs wrapped around his head and her hands held him against her were more than enough to inform him that she was enjoying it. He pulled her against him, gripping her hips as he worked her until she came. He licked his lips, sitting back onto the couch and allowing her a moment to recover. Before he knew it she was on top of him again, her lips against his and her hands against his crotch.

She pushed him against the back of the spacious couch, her hands working at the button and zipper of his pants. He groaned as he felt her slim hand against his throbbing cock, her fingers wrapping around his shaft and slowly running up its length.

"Fuck." He growled as she gave his cock a squeeze, her thumb running over his sensitive tip.

"Mm, fuck is right." He heard her reply before feeling the warmth of her lips against his cock. His head fell back against the couch as she ran her mouth against him, her teeth pressing against all of the right places. His hand instinctively slipped into her hair as he watched her head bob back and forth between his legs, his cock throbbing as with each suck and slip of her tongue he felt himself come closer to the edge.

He could feel his muscles tense as he groaned, his orgasm hitting him in a wave of pleasure. He watched as she released him, sitting back and slipping her dress over her head.

He took in the sight of her completely nude before him, already feeling his erection begin to grow again. He pulled off his pants and boxers before unbuttoning his shirt and throwing it all to the side.

House smirked as he watched Cuddy make her way back towards him before settling herself into his lap, his erection teasing her entrance. He thrust into her, taking her by surprise and watching as her eyes widened and her lips parted.

He held her hips as she leaned forward, her hands against his chest and her hair falling around both of their faces. He groaned when she pushed back against him, her walls tightening against his cock before she leaned forward again.

He loved the look on her face when she was concentrating on getting them both to reach their orgasms simultaneously. Her grey eyes were slits and her lips were slightly open as he ran his hands along her curves, stopping at her ass and thrusting into her as he held a tight grip onto her ass.

* * *

She moaned as he thrust into her, his hands holding her ass firmly against him. She could feel herself throbbing with the need to reach a second climax. She leaned forward again, pressing her lips against his as she allowed him to thrust into her continuously. She let out several frantic whimpers against his lips as she felt her chest tighten and her body quiver as she began to reach her peak.

"Fuck me." She cried against his lips as she reached her orgasm, her body trembling against his as she felt herself come.

"Any day." She heard him growl in response as he increased his pace.

She let out another cry of pleasure as held her against him as he came, his teeth pulling at her bottom lip and one hand rubbing her back.

"Oh my god." She said breathlessly as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Fuck, that was the best sex we've had lately." He replied, kissing her shoulder.

She slid off of the couch, her legs still weak from the orgasm she had experienced, picked up their clothing, and walked over into the laundry room, thankful that they had done laundry earlier in the day and had left it in the dryer. She threw their clothes into the hamper and pulled out a pair of panties for herself and a pair of boxers for house from the dryer before grabbing one of his tee shirts for herself; he wouldn't need one, it was the middle of May and he tended to sleep solely in boxers when it was warm out. She slipped into her underwear and his clothes before turning towards the linen closet and pulling out a blanket.

She headed towards the living room and threw both his boxers and the blanket at him, before picking the couch pillows up from the floor. She was not at all surprised that they had ended up there during their rendezvous.

Cuddy threw the pillows back onto the couch and took one for herself, watching as House grabbed one as well before climbing back onto the couch and settling herself against him, a perfect ending to a long day.


	60. You and I

_As promised, the last chapter on 3/13/13, which marks the second anniversary of this story being published. It's been a long ride, and I thank each and everyone of you who have stuck with it until the end. Your support is what kept this story going for so long, and your reviews are what made me know this was worth it. Like I said previously, there will be a sequel to this fic, but it wont be posted until I'm halfway done with it, so look out for it. It's working title at the moment is "**Stay with Me**". With that being said, I give you the last chapter, and please don't forget to leave your reviews at the end!_

* * *

House awoke early the next morning, his thigh throbbing from the activities of the previous night. He groaned digging his palm into it and shifting ever so slightly, trying his best not to wake a still sleeping Cuddy beside him. He let out a pained huff and felt her stir beside him.

"Your thigh hurts doesn't it?" She asked groggily, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. Before he could she stood and exited the room. She returned only moments later with a glass of water and three tablets of ibuprofen. "Here."

He took the pills from her and threw them into his mouth, drinking them with the water instead of dry swallowing them like he usually did before uttering a quiet 'thank you'.

"Always." She replied, assuming her previous position beside him, her arm draped over his chest and her head resting in the crook of his shoulder.

"You know, I never gave you your present last night." He commented, looking down at her.

"What present?" She replied, sitting up again.

He let out a soft chuckle at her excitement, his mind void of all pain in his leg. It never ceased to amaze him how focusing his attention and energy on her would keep his mind off of the pain.

"The traditional gift for the first wedding anniversary is something paper related, which I'm sure you know, seeing as there is an envelope addressed to yours truly in your panty drawer. That being said, if you go into the kitchen, in the bottom right cabinet where you put the dishware you never use, there will be a square package for you."

He shook his head as she left his side and practically ran towards the kitchen. He heard the sound of dishware being shifted in the cabinet and then the sound of its door creaking closed. She was at his side once more, sitting cross legged beside him, the package in her hands.

"What is it?" She asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you asking me when it's in your hands? Just open it Cuddy."

He watched as she carefully opened the present, not ripping the wrapping paper, something she had a habit of doing.

"Must you be so anal?"

"Shut up."

House rolled his eyes before she finally unwrapped her present.

"Happy First Anniversary. From me to you." She said out loud, reading the cover of the book.

"It's not what you think it is." He replied.

He had brought her a personalized couple's book that was basically a do-it-yourself scrapbook that asked questions about the relationship like their favorite things to do, what they hoped for their future, etcetera, but instead of having the usual procedural questions, he had created his own questions for it and had handwritten his answers in.

"What's the best sex you've ever had?" She read aloud, shaking her head as she read his response. "The christening of the new house on the island in the kitchen."

"There's a pen in there too, it's red, for you to fill in your own answers." He replied smirking.

"What is your favorite thing about the other? You said, 'your ass, your hips, your lips against my…, your face.'"

"Keep reading that one, it gets better."

"'Your personality, the way you've never given up on me…' You're sweet when you want to be." She responded, leaning forward and giving him a quick peck.

"I just choose opportune moments to be sweet." He responded, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You do. Seeing as you've given me my present, I guess I should go get yours."

"I guess you should." He replied, watching as she stood and headed out of the room, knowing that extra sway in her hips was meant to tease him.

* * *

She took the stairs instead of the elevator of their home and when she reached the landing of the second floor, she checked in on Rachel, not at all surprised to find her curled up with her stuffed dog. She then checked in on Adam and smiled at his small hand covering his eyes. There were still a few hours before either one would be awake.

She waltzed into the master bedroom and over to her dresser, picking up the envelope addressed to her husband. She exited the bedroom and made her way back down the stairs and into the living room, letting out a soft laugh at the fact that while she had been gone, Zeus had taken the liberty of claiming her spot beside House, and House had taken the liberty of using Zeus as a pillow as he waited for her to return.

She shooed the dog out of her spot, laughing again as he whined and scooted over before she reclaimed her spot, only to have House use her lap as a pillow.

"This is for you." She held out the envelope for him to take and watched as he ended up dropping it on his face in his attempts to open it.

"You are a child." She teased, running a hand through his hair as he finally opened the envelope. She watched him pull out the letter she had written and set the envelope aside as he read it silently to himself.

"It seemed like the whole world was pushing us to get together and we were both too stubborn to do anything about it." He read aloud. "Well said Cuddles, well said. I think that is the best explanation of us I've ever heard." He continued, and she smiled down at him.

"Thanks."

He turned his attention back to the letter and she continued to play with his hair. She could never get enough of its softness. She could never get enough of him in general, and she had made sure to make that clear in the letter.

It hadnt been easy for her to sit down and write said letter. It wasn't difficult for her to write down her feelings; she kept a journal hidden in her computer files. It was difficult for her to write down her feelings towards House. House, who infuriated her to the point of tears. House, who made her feel like the most beautiful woman on Earth. House, who despite her flaws and bad qualities had made her his wife; there were not enough words in the English language for her to be able to describe the love she felt towards her husband.

"I'm proud and honored to be called your wife. I think I have diabetes from how sweet and corny that line is." She heard him comment, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Note to self : never write husband a letter again. Ever. He will take sentiments and insult you. He will be an asshole."

"Hey."

She looked down at him as she heard his voice change into a serious tone.

"I'm always an asshole, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the little things like this letter. If I were a different man, I would have probably teared up a little at that letter, but we both know I don't cry often. But I'll tell you this, this letter you wrote? It takes a lot of balls to pour yourself out to someone like that, no matter what the status of the relationship is, and I respect that, just like I respect you."

At this point he was sitting up and facing her, their eyes watching the other.

"I may not be the type of husband who will say the right things at the right times, hell I'm the one who'll say the wrong thing at the wrong time and piss you off intentionally or unintentionally, but I will show you what you mean to me, even though I'm incapable of telling you."

It was rare for him to talk to her in that way, but when he did, she couldn't deny that she adored the man with all of her being.

She threw her arms around him with such force that she knocked him onto his back. She was thankful that the couch was so big, otherwise they would have ended up on the floor.

"I love you so much." She said into his shoulder.

"I love you too." He replied, kissing the top of her head. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

She remained in his arms for a few moments longer before remembering that there was a part of his present missing. She climbed off if him and reached around the couch for the envelope that had contained the letter.

"There's something missing." She said, finding the envelope and handing it to him. She watched as he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Go on, look inside."

"Two VIP tickets to see The Rolling Stones at Prudential Center in Newark, next Saturday."

"Wilson already agreed to babysit; he even offered to take the dog for the night too."

"Rock, booze, and the house to just myself and my lady for the night? Count me in."

"Sure as hell count you in, those tickets were almost two grand. If you had said no I would have shoved your cane so far up your ass it would have come out the other side." She replied jokingly.

"So volatile. I'm starting to rub off on you. I like it."

"Shut up House."

* * *

There was one thing House was looking forward to almost as much as the concert and that was getting to see Cuddy in leather. He _knew _she had some sort of rocker-esque apparel buried somewhere in the depths of her closet and he was sure she would pull something special up for the occasion. He was glad when he watched her emerge from their walk-in closet, wearing a Rolling Stones shirt, black jeans, and knee high leather boots. Her hair was slightly feathered and she was wearing silver hoop earrings.

"Your ass looks great in those jeans." He commented from his place on their bed.

"If that's your way of saying I look good, then thank you." She replied walking over to the vanity in the corner of the room and pulling out her make up.

"Your outfit is perfect for the occasion, but there's one thing missing." He commented.

He rolled onto his stomach close to the edge of the bed and looked beneath it, pulling out a large white box.

"What is that?" He heard her ask as he readjusted himself. He glanced over to where she was sitting, the mirror she was in front of allowing him the perfect view of her quizzical expression.

"You can't go to a rock concert without a leather jacket." He replied, opening the box and pulling out the biker jacket he had bought for her earlier in the week.

It was feminine but not too feminine, just like she was. It had silver studs on the shoulders and a zipper for a pocket that ran diagonally across the right side. He stood and limped over to her, holding it out for her too see.

"This is _really _nice." She said, emphasizing on the word really to show her genuine thanks.

"Only the best for my woman." He replied taking it from her and gesturing for her to turn around.

"Such a gentleman tonight." She responded.

"No, I just want to put this on you so I can see how well it hugs that small waist of yours. The more it hugs your waist the bigger your ass looks. I bet if you zip it up it makes your boobs look even better than they usually do."

"I don't think it's possible for my boobs to look any better." She replied wittily.

"Touché, they're just too good to be true."

He watched as she zipped the jacket up just below her breasts and smirked at her cleavage.

"I could motorboat you right now, but you need to finish your make up, and I know how you are about getting to places on time. Especially with the forty minute drive. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, we're taking my bike."

"You know, I would normally protest to taking a ride on that death trap of yours, but it's fitting to the occasion. I mean so is your Mustang, but just for tonight I'll let it slide. And you're right, I do need to finish my make up, but if someone weren't such a distraction, maybe it would actually be possible for me to finish it."

"You're the one still standing here talking to me instead of fixing your lopsided eyeliner."

House could barely keep a straight face at her expression as she turned to the mirror and gasped at the fact that one of the lines above her eyelids was thicker than the other.

"I hate you." He heard her grumble under her breath as he walked away.

* * *

The few times they had rode his bike together, she had always kept a firm grip around his waist. He teased her for it afterwards, telling her that her grip of death probably had more chances of killing him than riding the bike itself. This time around she wasn't holding onto him as tightly. She felt relaxed as she held onto his shoulders instead of his waist.

"The first time I can properly breathe while having you with me." She heard him shout over the wind.

"Yeah, yeah, no grip of death this time. Nothing for you to tease me over later on. I'm enjoying the moment, something you still have no clue to do most times."

"Unless it's during sex, then I know how to enjoy the moment the entire time."

She could picture the smirk she knew was plastered on his face.

"Shut up."

When they arrived at the venue, it was much easier for them to find a parking spot than those around them due to the fact that a motorcycle could be crammed into any space big enough for it. That and the fact that not many people with a handicap sign on their motive of transportation were attending a Rolling Stones concert. She slid off of the bike and took off the helmet, running her fingers through her hair.

"Rock concert Cuddy, its fine if your hair is a mess."

She gave him the once over, not realizing until then that they were both wearing shirts featuring the band's logo. He looked pretty good in said shirt, his hair mussed from his helmet and his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket as he leaned against his bike. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his chest before pressing her lips against his.

She felt his hands move to grip her waist and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck.

There was the sound of a wolf whistle coming from someone walking by.

"How the fuck does someone like _that,_land someone like _her? _Old man's even got a cane."

"Eh, she's probably a gold digger."

She felt House stiffen as they pulled away, and she could see his jaw tense as his eyes followed the two teenage boys who had just walked past them.

"Ignore them. They're young and ignorant. It's okay."

"It's not okay."

"House, it's not a big deal. They're teenagers; they don't know what they're saying. They called you old and me a gold digger because they know they're probably never going to end up with a wife this hot when they're your age, which by the way is not old. Let it go, let's go in there and just enjoy this concert okay? Besides, they're probably sitting in the last row, while we have seats in the first five rows. It's fine okay?" She said softly.

She ran her hand along his upper arm in attempt to calm him down, glad when he released the tension in his jaw. She grabbed his hand and led the way towards the entrance of the venue.

* * *

He had only been to concerts in his youth, and even then they weren't many. The venues had been dimly lit and smoky along with dank and musky. The Prudential Center had been the complete opposite of the venues he had experienced in the past. It was a clean building for one. The VIP lounge was small, but comfortable, fitting the few people who had actually been able to afford VIP tickets to a Rolling Stones concert. There was unlimited food and drinks along with complementary gift bags that he had no care for, but took one anyway. There was also special treatment for those with disabilities, which he usually would have declined, but seeing as it was giving him the chance to get into the arena before the rest of the crowds of people, he decided to take said opportunity, much to Cuddy's surprise.

They were currently sitting at the bar in the lounge, a glass of Scotch in front of him and an apple martini currently in Cuddy's hand.

"Look at this picture Wilson just sent me. And here I was thinking that you were the only one corrupting our children."

He looked at the picture currently displayed on the screen of her iPhone of a sleeping Adam with an empty bottle of beer beside him.

"I knew I was friends with him for a reason. That's the reason, this picture; this is why I've been friends with him all along. It's the moment I've been waiting for." He replied, shaking his head in response.

"Oh really? Twenty years of friendship and you've been waiting for him to send you a picture of your son and an empty beer bottle?" She challenged raising an eyebrow.

"Cleary, seeing as he doubted the fact that I would even ever have children. Proved him wrong, sucker!" He triumphantly declared, pounding his chest.

He watched as Cuddy broke out in laughter, unable to keep a straight face any longer. He couldn't help but flash the slightest smile at her amusement. There were few sounds in the world that he didn't find irritating, and one of those sounds was the sound of her laugh. After knowing her for so long and seeing her experience some of the things she went through, her laugh was a reminder to him that some people aren't completely broken by their experiences.

"You know, sometimes you get this look on your face when you're watching me, that makes me feel like the most important person in the world."

"Well clearly, you are the most important person the world."

"And it's great to know so."

* * *

Throughout her life time she had been to a few concerts, but none of them had ever been Rock concerts. The last time she had even gone to a concert it was in the mid-nineties and she had been forced into it by none other than Kat. It had been a Mariah Carey concert and when she looked back at the experience, she remembered it fondly, seeing as she and Kat had gotten so drunk that they had ended up leaving the concert after sobbing hysterically at one of the songs because of their lack of love lives during the current time.

The concert she was currently attending though was the complete opposite. She was having the time of her life with House as they enjoyed the performance from their tenth row seats. They weren't very far from the stage; she was sure she could count the lines on Jagger's face and the amount of hair plugs that Keith probably had from her current position.

When they started to play "Satisfaction" one of her favorite songs, she got a little more into it, playfully shaking her hair which she could tell amused House who was standing beside her singing along to almost all of the songs.

"I have clearly married a teenage girl. I was unaware of this hyper side of you." He commented, smirking.

"Never called for the occasion." She replied shrugging.

The rest of the evening was spent that way, unless it was a song that neither was interested in hearing. When those songs played they chose to sit and relax for a bit. She knew that standing too long would have toll on House's leg, and she regretted letting him take his bike there in the case that his leg hurt too much afterwards.

Towards the end of the show the songs began to whine down to the slower songs by the band. As they played out a song called "Memory Motel" she felt House's arms wrap around her waist and she instinctively let her head fall against his chest as they swayed to the music.

"_She got a mind of her own and she use it well. She got a mind of her own and she use it mighty fine." _She smiled as House sang the lyrics of the song into her ear.

There were rare moments when he sang to her, and it was something she treasured when it happened. It was always when she was least expecting it and it would always make her mood better if it was down or even higher than it was originally. She loved that fact that he would occasionally sing to her. She'd never had a significant other who would do that, or even attempt to express their feelings towards her in manners other than just saying it. House though, he showed it to her in different ways, often without even meaning to do so and she couldn't be more thankful for that.

* * *

The concert ended at a little after midnight, and after driving back to Princeton they stopped at a little diner that was still open to grab a bite to go. When they got home they took their food to bed with them and flipped on the tv before opening up their containers and digging in.

"You know what I just realized?" He heard Cuddy ask from beside him through half a mouthful of food.

"Wa?" He replied through a mouthful of food, swallowing after having attempted to talk.

"We've never recorded a joint answering machine and we've been together for four years."

"So, what's your point?"

"We're gonna record one. That's my point." She replied, taking their containers of food and putting them on the floor and reaching for house phone that was sitting on her nightstand.

He went to grab for his container only to have his hand slapped away. He retreated and furrowed his brow before pouting at her.

"Why can't we just leave it as the automated voicemail? Why do we have to record one?" He groaned.

He couldn't say he saw no point in recording one when he himself had a specialized voicemail for his cellphone telling people off.

"Because I said so." She replied matter-of-factually, pressing the record button.

"Hello you've reached Drs. Cuddy and."

He crossed his arms as she looked over at him, waiting for his response.

"House." She continued when he didn't respond. He smirked as she rolled her eyes at him. "We can't make it to the phone right now –"

"We're probably having sex." He said loud enough for the phone to pick up. His smirk grew as she shook her head.

"Please leave a message after the beep and we'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible."

"OR NOT!"

"You are an idiot."

"Yes, I am, but you have to admit, that that answering machine recording is us in a nutshell."

"That it is. Speaking of us, I booked you as a speaker at a conference in two weeks in Chicago."

"No."

"I'm going with you, and it's only one speech. It's three days off work. You're going to this conference."

"But mommmmm." He whined, putting on his best pleading expression in order to attempt to get his way.

"Don't try to pull that with me. I'll make a deal with you. You do this speech, which is on the first day by the way, and we can spend the next day, the entire day, in the hotel room doing as you please."

"I see what you're trying to do. You're just trying to manipulate me into going so that I'll do the speech and then we can stay in the next day and fuck like rabbits. But that's not going to work with me Lisa Cuddy, because I know you enjoy sex just as much as I do, probably even more, you little nympho. So if it's what I want to do, we're playing call of duty the entire day, and then, maybe, if you're lucky, we'll have some fun times."

He was teasing her of course, but her expression of disbelief caused him much amusement No sane man would choose playing call of duty when he would have the chance the spend the entire day ravishing his wife's body.

"No, do you think I'm crazy? Of course we can fuck like rabbits."

"Hm, I thought so. Maybe we can start that marathon a little early. The kids are gone until tomorrow afternoon…"

He watched as she slipped off her top, leaving her scantily clad in her bra and jeans, his eyes widening in approval.

"What kind of question is that?" House replied, pulling her into his lap and wrapping her legs around him, his hands automatically moving to her waist.

"An offer I knew you wouldn't refuse."

~FIN~

* * *

_I may or may not have shed a few tears writing the A/N. I hope you liked it, thanks again for sticking around on this ride. - Sydney xx_


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